SlideShare a Scribd company logo

Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters

•Download as DOCX, PDF•
•
M
madlynplamondon

Understanding the WTO 3rd edition Previously published as “Trading into the Future” September 2003, revised October 2005 2 Fact file The WTO Location: Geneva, Switzerland Established: 1 January 1995 Created by: Uruguay Round negotiations (1986–94) Membership: 148 countries (since 13 October 2004) Budget: 169 million Swiss francs for 2005 Secretariat staff: 630 Head: Pascal Lamy (director-general) Functions: • Administering WTO trade agreements • Forum for trade negotiations • Handling trade disputes • Monitoring national trade policies • Technical assistance and training for developing countries • Cooperation with other international organizations Third edition Previously published as “Trading into the Future” Written and published by the World Trade Organization Information and Media Relations Division © WTO 1995, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005 An up-to-date version of this text also appears on the WTO website (http://www.wto.org, click on “the WTO”), where it is regularly updated to reflect developments in the WTO. Contact the WTO Information Division rue de Lausanne 154, CH–1211 Genève 21, Switzerland Tel: (41–22) 739 5007/5190 Fax: (41–22) 739 5458 e-mail: [email protected] Contact WTO Publications rue de Lausanne 154, CH–1211 Genève 21, Switzerland Tel: (41–22) 739 5208/5308 Fax: (41–22) 739 5792 e-mail: [email protected] Printed: October 2005 — 14 000 copies 3 The first step is to talk. Essentially, the WTO is a place where member governments go, to try to sort out the trade problems they face with each other. At its heart are WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations. But the WTO is not just about liberalizing trade, and in some circumstances its rules support maintaining trade barriers — for example to protect consumers or prevent the spread of disease. 4 Abbreviations Some of the abbreviations and acronyms used in the WTO: ACP African, Caribbean and Pacific Group (Lomé Convention) AD, A-D Anti-dumping measures AFTA ASEAN Free Trade Area AMS Aggregate measurement of support (agriculture) APEC Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations ATC Agreement on Textiles and Clothing CBD Convention on Biological Diversity CCC (former) Customs Co-operation Council (now WCO) CER [Australia New Zealand] Closer Economic Relations [Trade Agreement] (also ANCERTA) COMESA Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa CTD Committee on Trade and Development CTE Committee on Trade and Environment CVD Countervailing duty (subsidies) DDA Doha Development Agenda DSB Dispute Settlement Body DSU Dispute Settlement Understanding EC European Communities EFTA European Free Trade Association EU European Union (officially European Communities in WTO) FAO Food and Agriculture Organization GATS Genera.

Education
1 of 306
Understanding the WTO 3rd edition Previously published as “Trading into the Future” September 2003, revised October 2005 2 Fact file The WTO Location: Geneva, Switzerland Established: 1 January 1995 Created by: Uruguay Round negotiations (1986–94) Membership: 148 countries (since 13 October 2004) Budget: 169 million Swiss francs for 2005 Secretariat staff: 630 Head: Pascal Lamy (director-general) Functions: • Administering WTO trade agreements
• Forum for trade negotiations • Handling trade disputes • Monitoring national trade policies • Technical assistance and training for developing countries • Cooperation with other international organizations Third edition Previously published as “Trading into the Future” Written and published by the World Trade Organization Information and Media Relations Division © WTO 1995, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005 An up-to-date version of this text also appears on the WTO website (http://www.wto.org, click on “the WTO”), where it is regularly updated to reflect developments in the WTO.
Contact the WTO Information Division rue de Lausanne 154, CH–1211 Genève 21, Switzerland Tel: (41–22) 739 5007/5190 Fax: (41–22) 739 5458 e-mail: [email protected] Contact WTO Publications rue de Lausanne 154, CH–1211 Genève 21, Switzerland Tel: (41–22) 739 5208/5308 Fax: (41–22) 739 5792 e-mail: [email protected] Printed: October 2005 — 14 000 copies 3 The first step is to talk. Essentially, the WTO is a place where member governments go, to try to sort out the trade problems they face with each other. At its heart are WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations. But the WTO is not just about liberalizing trade, and in some circumstances its rules support maintaining trade barriers — for example to protect consumers or prevent the spread of disease.
4 Abbreviations Some of the abbreviations and acronyms used in the WTO: ACP African, Caribbean and Pacific Group (Lomé Convention) AD, A-D Anti-dumping measures AFTA ASEAN Free Trade Area AMS Aggregate measurement of support (agriculture) APEC Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations ATC Agreement on Textiles and Clothing CBD Convention on Biological Diversity CCC (former) Customs Co-operation Council (now WCO) CER [Australia New Zealand] Closer Economic Relations [Trade Agreement] (also ANCERTA) COMESA Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa CTD Committee on Trade and Development
CTE Committee on Trade and Environment CVD Countervailing duty (subsidies) DDA Doha Development Agenda DSB Dispute Settlement Body DSU Dispute Settlement Understanding EC European Communities EFTA European Free Trade Association EU European Union (officially European Communities in WTO) FAO Food and Agriculture Organization GATS General Agreement on Trade in Services GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade GSP Generalized System of Preferences HS Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System ICITO Interim Commission for the International Trade Organization ILO International Labour Organization IMF International Monetary Fund ITC International Trade Centre
ITO International Trade Organization MEA Multilateral environmental agreement MERCOSUR Southern Common Market MFA Multifibre Arrangement (replaced by ATC) MFN Most-favoured-nation MTN Multilateral trade negotiations NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement PSE Producer subsidy equivalent (agriculture) PSI Pre-shipment inspection S&D, SDT Special and differential treatment (for developing countries) SAARC South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation SDR Special Drawing Rights (IMF) SELA Latin American Economic System SPS Sanitary and phytosanitary measures TBT Technical barriers to trade TMB Textiles Monitoring Body TNC Trade Negotiations Committee TPRB Trade Policy Review Body
TPRM Trade Policy Review Mechanism TRIMs Trade-related investment measures TRIPS Trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights UN United Nations 5 UNCTAD UN Conference on Trade and Development UNDP UN Development Programme UNEP UN Environment Programme UPOV International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants UR Uruguay Round VER Voluntary export restraint VRA Voluntary restraint agreement WCO World Customs Organization WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization WTO World Trade Organization For a comprehensive list of abbreviations and glossary of terms
used in international trade, see, for example: Walter Goode, Dictionary of Trade Policy Terms, 4th Edition, WTO/Cambridge University Press, 2003. This and many other publications on the WTO and trade are available from: WTO Publications, World Trade Organization, Centre William Rappard, Rue de Lausanne 154, CH–1211 Geneva, Switzerland. Tel (+41–22) 739 5208 / 739 5308. Fax: (+41–22) 739 5792 e-mail: [email protected] ON THE WEBSITE You can find more information on WTO activities and issues on the WTO website. The site is created around “gateways” leading to various subjects — for example, the “trade topics” gateway or the “Doha Development Agenda” gateway. Each gateway provides links to all material on its subject. References in this text show you where to find the material. This is in the form of a path through gateways, starting with one of the navigation links in the top right of the homepage or any other page on the site. For example, to find material on the agriculture negotiations, you go through this series of gateways and links: www.wto.org > trade topics > goods > agriculture > agriculture negotiations You can follow this path, either by clicking directly on the links, or via drop-down menus that will appear in most browsers when you place your cursor over the “trade topics” link at the top of any web page on the site.
A word of caution: the fine print While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the text in this booklet, it cannot be taken as an official legal interpretation of the agreements. In addition, some simplifications are used in order to keep the text simple and clear. In particular, the words “country” and “nation” are frequently used to describe WTO members, whereas a few members are officially “customs territories”, and not necessarily countries in the usual sense of the word (see list of members). The same applies when participants in trade negotiations are called “countries” or “nations”. Where there is little risk of misunderstanding, the word “member” is dropped from “member countries (nations, governments)”, for example in the descriptions of the WTO agreements. Naturally, the agreements and commitments do not apply to non-members. In some parts of the text, GATT is described as an “international organization”. The phrase reflects GATT’s de facto role before the WTO was created, and it is used simplistically here to help readers understand that role. As the text points out, this role was always ad hoc, without a proper legal foundation. International law did not recognize GATT as an organization. For simplicity, the text uses the term “GATT members”. Officially, since GATT was a treaty and not a legally- established organization, GATT signatories were “contracting parties”. And, for easier reading, article numbers in GATT and GATS
have been translated from Roman numbers into European digits. 6 Contents Chapter 1 ............................................................................................... ....... 9 Basics ............................................................................................... ............ 9 1. What is the World Trade Organization? ....................................................... 9 Is it a bird, is it a plane? .......................................................................................9 Born in 1995, but not so young ...........................................................................10 2. Principles of the trading system .................................................................11 Trade without discrimination ...............................................................................11 Freer trade: gradually, through negotiation ...........................................................12 Predictability: through binding and transparency....................................................12 Promoting fair competition ..................................................................................13 Encouraging development and economic reform ....................................................13
3. The case for open trade ..............................................................................14 4. The GATT years: from Havana to Marrakesh ...............................................16 GATT: ‘provisional’ for almost half a century..........................................................16 The Tokyo Round: a first try to reform the system .................................................17 Did GATT succeed? ............................................................................................1 8 5. The Uruguay Round ....................................................................................20 A round to end all rounds? ..................................................................................20 What happened to GATT?.................................................................................... 21 The post-Uruguay Round built-in agenda ..............................................................22 Chapter 2 .................................................................................... ........... ..... 23 The agreements .......................................................................................... 23 1. Overview: a navigational guide ..................................................................23 Six-part broad outline.................................................................................... .....23 Additional agreements ........................................................................................24
Further changes on the horizon, the Doha Agenda .................................................24 2. Tariffs: more bindings and closer to zero....................................................25 Tariff cuts ......................................................................................... ...... ..........25 More bindings.................................................................................. ..................25 And agriculture ... .............................................................................................. 26 3. Agriculture: fairer markets for farmers ......................................................27 The Agriculture Agreement: new rules and commitments ........................................27 The least-developed and those depending on food imports......................................30 4. Standards and safety..................................................................................31 Food, animal and plant products: how safe is safe? ................................................31 Technical regulations and standards .....................................................................32 5. Textiles: back in the mainstream................................................................33 Integration: returning products gradually to GATT rules..........................................33 6. Services: rules for growth and investment .................................................36
GATS explained ........................................................................................ ....... ..36 Current work ............................................................................................... ......39 7. Intellectual property: protection and enforcement .....................................42 Origins: into the rule-based trade system .............................................................42 Basic principles: national treatment, MFN, and balanced protection ..........................43 How to protect intellectual property: common ground- rules.....................................43 Enforcement: tough but fair ................................................................................46 Technology transfer ...........................................................................................46 Transition arrangements: 1, 5 or 11 years or more ................................................47 8. Anti-dumping, subsidies, safeguards: contingencies, etc............................48 Anti-dumping actions .........................................................................................48 Subsidies and countervailing measures .................................................................49 Safeguards: emergency protection from imports....................................................51 9. Non-tariff barriers: red tape, etc ................................................................53 Import licensing: keeping procedures clear ...........................................................53 Rules for the valuation of goods at customs
..........................................................53 Preshipment inspection: a further check on imports ...............................................54 Rules of origin: made in ... where?.......................................................................54 Investment measures: reducing trade distortions...................................................55 10. Plurilaterals: of minority interest .............................................................56 Fair trade in civil aircraft .....................................................................................56 Government procurement: opening up for competition ...........................................56 Dairy and bovine meat agreements: ended in 1997................................................57 11. Trade policy reviews: ensuring transparency ...........................................58 Chapter 3 ............................................................................................... ..... 59 Settling disputes ......................................................................................... 59 1. A unique contribution .................................................................................59 Principles: equitable, fast, effective, mutually acceptable ........................................59 How are disputes settled? ...................................................................................60 Appeals ......................................................................................... ...... .............61 The case has been decided: what next? ................................................................61
2. The panel process.................................................................................... ...63 3. Case study: the timetable in practice..........................................................64 Chapter 4 ............................................................................................... ..... 66 Cross-cutting and new issues ..................................................................... 66 1. Regionalism: friends or rivals? ...................................................................67 Regional trading arrangements ............................................................................67 2. The environment: a specific concern ..........................................................69 7 The committee: broad-based responsibility ...........................................................69 WTO and environmental agreements: how are they related? ...................................69 Disputes: where should they be handled? .............................................................70 A WTO dispute: The ‘shrimp-turtle’ case ...............................................................71 A GATT dispute: The tuna-dolphin dispute.............................................................73 Eco-labelling: good, if it doesn’t discriminate
.........................................................74 Transparency: information without too much paperwork .........................................74 Domestically prohibited goods: dangerous chemicals, etc........................................75 Liberalization and sustainable development: good for each other .............................75 Intellectual property, services: some scope for study..............................................75 3. Investment, competition, procurement, simpler procedures ......................76 Investment and competition: what role for the WTO? .............................................76 Transparency in government purchases: towards multilateral rules ..........................77 Trade facilitation: a new high profile.....................................................................77 4. Electronic commerce ..................................................................................78 5. Labour standards: highly controversial ......................................................79 Trade and labour rights: deferred to the ILO .........................................................79 Chapter 5 ............................................................................................... ..... 80 The Doha agenda ........................................................................................ 80 Implementation-related issues and concerns (par 12).............................................80 Agriculture (par 13, 14) .....................................................................................83
Services (par 15) ............................................................................................... 84 Market access for non-agricultural products (par 16) ..............................................85 Trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) (pars 17–19) ................86 Relationship between trade and investment (pars 20–22) .......................................87 Interaction between trade and competition policy (pars 23–25) ...............................88 Transparency in government procurement (par 26)................................................89 Trade facilitation (par 27) ...................................................................................89 WTO rules: anti-dumping and subsidies (par 28) ...................................................90 WTO rules: regional trade agreements (par 29) .....................................................90 Dispute Settlement Understanding (par 30)...........................................................91 Trade and environment (pars 31–33) ...................................................................91 Electronic commerce (par 34)..............................................................................93 Small economies (par 35) ...................................................................................93 Trade, debt and finance (par 36) .........................................................................93 Trade and technology transfer (par 37) ................................................................93 Technical cooperation and capacity building (pars 38–41) .......................................94 Least-developed countries (pars 42, 43) ...............................................................95 Special and differential treatment (par 44)
............................................................95 Cancún 2003, Hong Kong 2005 ...........................................................................96 Chapter 6 ............................................................................................... ..... 97 Developing countries .................................................................................. 97 1. Overview ............................................................................................... .....97 In the agreements: more time, better terms .........................................................97 Legal assistance: a Secretariat service..................................................................98 Least-developed countries: special focus...............................................................98 A ‘maison’ in Geneva: being present is important, but not easy for all ......................98 2. Committees .............................................................................................. 100 Trade and Development Committee ................................................................... 100 Subcommittee on Least-Developed Countries ...................................................... 100 The Doha agenda committees ........................................................................... 100 3. WTO technical cooperation .......................................................................101 Training, seminars and workshops ..................................................................... 101
4. Some issues raised ...................................................................................102 Participation in the system: opportunities and concerns ........................................ 102 Erosion of preferences ...................................................................................... 103 The ability to adapt: the supply- side................................................................... 103 Chapter 7 ............................................................................................... ... 104 The Organization ...................................................................................... 104 1. Whose WTO is it anyway?.........................................................................104 Highest authority: the Ministerial Conference....................................................... 104 Second level: General Council in three guises ...................................................... 105 Third level: councils for each broad area of trade, and more.................................. 107 Fourth level: down to the nitty- gritty.................................................................. 107 ‘HODs’ and other bods: the need for informality................................................... 107 2. Membership, alliances and bureaucracy ...................................................109 How to join the WTO: the accession process........................................................ 109 Representing us .............................................................................................. 110
Representing groups of countries ... ................................................................... 110 The WTO Secretariat and budget ....................................................................... 111 3. The Secretariat .........................................................................................112 4. Special policies .........................................................................................113 Assisting developing and transition economies ..................................................... 113 Specialized help for exporting: the International Trade Centre ............................... 113 The WTO in global economic policy-making ......................................................... 114 Transparency (1): keeping the WTO informed ..................................................... 114 Transparency (2): keeping the public informed .................................................... 114 9 Chapter 1 Basics The WTO was born out of negotiations; everything the WTO does is the result of
negotiations 1. What is the World Trade Organization? Simply put: the World Trade Organization (WTO) deals with the rules of trade between nations at a global or near-global level. But there is more to it than that. Is it a bird, is it a plane? There are a number of ways of looking at the WTO. It’s an organization for liberalizing trade. It’s a forum for governments to negotiate trade agreements. It’s a place for them to settle trade disputes. It operates a system of trade rules. (But it’s not Superman, just in case anyone thought it could solve — or cause — all the world’s problems!) Above all, it’s a negotiating forum … Essentially, the WTO is a place where member governments go, to try to sort out the trade problems they face with each other. The first step is to talk. The WTO was born out of negotiations, and everything the WTO does is the result of negotiations. The bulk of the WTO’s current work comes from the 1986–94 negotiations called the Uruguay Round and earlier negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The WTO is currently the host to new negotiations,
under the “Doha Development Agenda” launched in 2001. Where countries have faced trade barriers and wanted them lowered, the negotiations have helped to liberalize trade. But the WTO is not just about liberalizing trade, and in some circumstances its rules support maintaining trade barriers — for example to protect consumers or prevent the spread of disease. It’s a set of rules … At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations. These documents provide the legal ground-rules for international commerce. They are essentially contracts, binding governments to keep their trade policies within agreed limits. Although negotiated and signed by governments, the goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business, while allowing governments to meet social and environmental objectives. The system’s overriding purpose is to help trade flow as freely as possible — so long as there are no undesirable side-effects. That partly means removing obstacles. It also means ensuring that individuals, companies and governments know what the trade rules are around the world, and giving them the confidence that there will be no sudden changes of policy. In other words, the rules have
to be “transparent” and predictable. ‘Multilateral’ trading system ... ... i.e. the system operated by the WTO. Most nations — including almost all the main trading nations — are members of the system. But some are not, so “multilateral” is used to describe the system instead of “global” or “world”. In WTO affairs, “multilateral” also contrasts with actions taken regionally or by other smaller groups of countries. (This is different from the word’s use in other areas of international relations where, for example, a “multilateral” security arrangement can be regional.) ... OR IS IT A TABLE? Participants in a recent radio discussion on the WTO were full of ideas. The WTO should do this, the WTO should do that, they said. One of them finally interjected: “Wait a minute. The WTO is a table. People sit round the table and negotiate.
What do you expect the table to do?” 10 And it helps to settle disputes … This is a third important side to the WTO’s work. Trade relations often involve conflicting interests. Agreements, including those painstakingly negotiated in the WTO system, often need interpreting. The most harmonious way to settle these differences is through some neutral procedure based on an agreed legal foundation. That is the purpose behind the dispute settlement process written into the WTO agreements. Born in 1995, but not so young The WTO began life on 1 January 1995, but its trading system is half a century older. Since 1948, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) had provided the rules for the system. (The second WTO ministerial meeting, held in Geneva in May 1998, included a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the system.) It did not take long for the General Agreement to give birth to an unofficial, de facto international organization, also known informally as GATT. Over the years GATT evolved through several rounds of
negotiations. The last and largest GATT round, was the Uruguay Round which lasted from 1986 to 1994 and led to the WTO’s creation. Whereas GATT had mainly dealt with trade in goods, the WTO and its agreements now cover trade in services, and in traded inventions, creations and designs (intellectual property). 11 2. Principles of the trading system The WTO agreements are lengthy and complex because they are legal texts covering a wide range of activities. They deal with: agriculture, textiles and clothing, banking, telecommunications, government purchases, industrial standards and product safety, food sanitation regulations, intellectual property, and much more. But a number of simple, fundamental principles run throughout all of these documents. These principles are the foundation of the multilateral trading system. A closer look at these principles: Trade without discrimination 1. Most-favoured-nation (MFN): treating other people equally Under the WTO agreements, countries cannot
normally discriminate between their trading partners. Grant someone a special favour (such as a lower customs duty rate for one of their products) and you have to do the same for all other WTO members. This principle is known as most-favoured-nation (MFN) treatment (see box). It is so important that it is the first article of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which governs trade in goods. MFN is also a priority in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) (Article 2) and the Agreement on Trade- Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) (Article 4), although in each agreement the principle is handled slightly differently. Together, those three agreements cover all three main areas of trade handled by the WTO. Some exceptions are allowed. For example, countries can set up a free trade agreement that applies only to goods traded within the group — discriminating against goods from outside. Or they can give developing countries special access to their markets. Or a country can raise barriers against products that are considered to be traded unfairly from specific countries. And in services, countries are allowed, in limited circumstances, to discriminate. But the agreements only permit these exceptions under strict conditions. In
general, MFN means that every time a country lowers a trade barrier or opens up a market, it has to do so for the same goods or services from all its trading partners — whether rich or poor, weak or strong. 2. National treatment: Treating foreigners and locals equally Imported and locally-produced goods should be treated equally — at least after the foreign goods have entered the market. The same should apply to foreign and domestic services, and to foreign and local trademarks, copyrights and patents. This principle of “national treatment” (giving others the same treatment as one’s own nationals) is also found in all the three main WTO agreements (Article 3 of GATT, Article 17 of GATS and Article 3 of TRIPS), although once again the principle is handled slightly differently in each of these. National treatment only applies once a product, service or item of intellectual property has entered the market. Therefore, charging customs duty on an import is not a violation of national treatment even if locally-produced products are not charged an equivalent tax. Why ‘most-favoured’?
This sounds like a contradiction. It suggests special treatment, but in the WTO it actually means non-discrimination — treating virtually everyone equally. This is what happens. Each member treats all the other members equally as “most-favoured” trading partners. If a country improves the benefits that it gives to one trading partner, it has to give the same “best” treatment to all the other WTO members so that they all remain “most-favoured”. Most-favoured nation (MFN) status did not always mean equal treatment. The first bilateral MFN treaties set up exclusive clubs among a country’s “most- favoured” trading partners. Under GATT and now the WTO, the MFN club is no longer exclusive. The MFN principle ensures that each country treats its over- 140 fellow-members equally. But there are some exceptions ... The principles The trading system should be ... • without discrimination — a country should not discriminate between its trading partners (giving them equally “most-favoured-nation” or MFN status); and it should not discriminate between its own and foreign products, services or
nationals (giving them “national treatment”); • freer — barriers coming down through negotiation; • predictable — foreign companies, investors and governments should be confident that trade barriers (including tariffs and non-tariff barriers) should not be raised arbitrarily; tariff rates and market-opening commitments are “bound” in the WTO; • more competitive — discouraging “unfair” practices such as export subsidies and dumping products at below cost to gain market share; • more beneficial for less developed countries — giving them more time to adjust, greater flexibility, and special privileges. 12 Freer trade: gradually, through negotiation Lowering trade barriers is one of the most obvious means of encouraging trade. The barriers concerned include customs duties (or tariffs) and measures such as import bans or quotas that restrict quantities selectively. From time to time other issues such as
red tape and exchange rate policies have also been discussed. Since GATT’s creation in 1947–48 there have been eight rounds of trade negotiations. A ninth round, under the Doha Development Agenda, is now underway. At first these focused on lowering tariffs (customs duties) on imported goods. As a result of the negotiations, by the mid-1990s industrial countries’ tariff rates on industrial goods had fallen steadily to less than 4%. But by the 1980s, the negotiations had expanded to cover non- tariff barriers on goods, and to the new areas such as services and intellectual property. Opening markets can be beneficial, but it also requires adjustment. The WTO agreements allow countries to introduce changes gradually, through “progressive liberalization”. Developing countries are usually given longer to fulfil their obligations. Predictability: through binding and transparency Sometimes, promising not to raise a trade barrier can be as important as lowering one, because the promise gives businesses a clearer view of their future opportunities. With stability and predictability, investment is encouraged, jobs are created and consumers can fully enjoy the benefits of competition — choice and lower prices. The multilateral trading system is an attempt by governments to make the business environment stable and
predictable. In the WTO, when countries agree to open their markets for goods or services, they “bind” their commitments. For goods, these bindings amount to ceilings on customs tariff rates. Sometimes countries tax imports at rates that are lower than the bound rates. Frequently this is the case in developing countries. In developed countries the rates actually charged and the bound rates tend to be the same. A country can change its bindings, but only after negotiating with its trading partners, which could mean compensating them for loss of trade. One of the achievements of the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade talks was to increase the amount of trade under binding commitments (see table). In agriculture, 100% of products now have bound tariffs. The result of all this: a substantially higher degree of market security for traders and investors. The system tries to improve predictability and stability in other ways as well. One way is to discourage the use of quotas and other measures used to set limits on quantities of imports — administering quotas can lead to more red-tape and accusations of unfair play. Another is to make countries’ trade rules as clear and public (“transparent”) as possible. Many WTO agreements require
governments to disclose their policies and practices publicly within the country or by notifying the WTO. The regular surveillance of 13 national trade policies through the Trade Policy Review Mechanism provides a further means of encouraging transparency both domestically and at the multilateral level. Promoting fair competition The WTO is sometimes described as a “free trade” institution, but that is not entirely accurate. The system does allow tariffs and, in limited circumstances, other forms of protection. More accurately, it is a system of rules dedicated to open, fair and undistorted competition. The rules on non-discrimination — MFN and national treatment — are designed to secure fair conditions of trade. So too are those on dumping (exporting at below cost to gain market share) and subsidies. The issues are complex, and the rules try to establish what is fair or unfair, and how governments can respond, in particular by charging additional import duties calculated to compensate for damage caused by unfair trade. Many of the other WTO agreements aim to support fair
competition: in agriculture, intellectual property, services, for example. The agreement on government procurement (a “plurilateral” agreement because it is signed by only a few WTO members) extends competition rules to purchases by thousands of government entities in many countries. And so on. Encouraging development and economic reform The WTO system contributes to development. On the other hand, developing countries need flexibility in the time they take to implement the system’s agreements. And the agreements themselves inherit the earlier provisions of GATT that allow for special assistance and trade concessions for developing countries. Over three quarters of WTO members are developing countries and countries in transition to market economies. During the seven and a half years of the Uruguay Round, over 60 of these countries implemented trade liberalization programmes autonomously. At the same time, developing countries and transition economies were much more active and influential in the Uruguay Round negotiations than in any previous round, and they are even more so in the current Doha Development Agenda. At the end of the Uruguay Round, developing countries were prepared to take on most of the obligations that are required of developed countries. But the agreements did give them transition
periods to adjust to the more unfamiliar and, perhaps, difficult WTO provisions — particularly so for the poorest, “least-developed” countries. A ministerial decision adopted at the end of the round says better-off countries should accelerate implementing market access commitments on goods exported by the least-developed countries, and it seeks increased technical assistance for them. More recently, developed countries have started to allow duty- free and quota-free imports for almost all products from least- developed countries. On all of this, the WTO and its members are still going through a learning process. The current Doha Development Agenda includes developing countries’ concerns about the difficulties they face in implementing the Uruguay Round agreements. The Uruguay Round increased bindings Percentages of tariffs bound before and after the 1986–94 talks Before After Developed countries 78 99 Developing countries 21 73 Transition economies 73 98 (These are tariff lines, so percentages are not weighted according to trade volume or value)
14 3. The case for open trade The economic case for an open trading system based on multilaterally agreed rules is simple enough and rests largely on commercial common sense. But it is also supported by evidence: the experience of world trade and economic growth since the Second World War. Tariffs on industrial products have fallen steeply and now average less than 5% in industrial countries. During the first 25 years after the war, world economic growth averaged about 5% per year, a high rate that was partly the result of lower trade barriers. World trade grew even faster, averaging about 8% during the period. The data show a definite statistical link between freer trade and economic growth. Economic theory points to strong reasons for the link. All countries, including the poorest, have assets — human, industrial, natural, financial — which they can employ to produce goods and services for their domestic markets or to compete overseas. Economics tells us that we can benefit when these goods and services are traded. Simply put, the principle of “comparative advantage” says that countries prosper first by taking advantage of their assets in order to concentrate on what they can produce best, and then by trading these products for products that other countries
produce best. In other words, liberal trade policies — policies that allow the unrestricted flow of goods and services — sharpen competition, motivate innovation and breed success. They multiply the rewards that result from producing the best products, with the best design, at the best price. But success in trade is not static. The ability to compete well in particular products can shift from company to company when the market changes or new technologies make cheaper and better products possible. Producers are encouraged to adapt gradually and in a relatively painless way. They can focus on new products, find a new “niche” in their current area or expand into new areas. Experience shows that competitiveness can also shift between whole countries. A country that may have enjoyed an advantage because of lower labour costs or because it had good supplies of some natural resources, could also become uncompetitive in some goods or services as its economy develops. However, with the stimulus of an open economy, the country can move on to become competitive in some other goods or services. This is normally a gradual process. Nevertheless, the temptation to ward off the challenge of competitive imports is always present. And richer governments are more likely to yield to the siren call of protectionism, for short term
political gain — through subsidies, complicated red tape, and hiding behind legitimate policy objectives such as environmental preservation or consumer protection as an excuse to protect producers. Protection ultimately leads to bloated, inefficient producers supplying consumers with outdated, unattractive products. In the end, factories close and jobs are lost despite the protection and subsidies. If other governments around the world pursue the same policies, markets contract and world economic activity is reduced. One of the objectives that governments bring to WTO negotiations is to prevent such a self-defeating and destructive drift into protectionism. TRUE AND NON-TRIVIAL? Nobel laureate Paul Samuelson was once challenged by the mathematician Stanislaw Ulam to “name me one proposition in all of the social sciences which is both true and non-trivial.” Samuelson’s answer? Comparative advantage.
“That it is logically true need not be argued before a mathematician; that it is not trivial is attested by the thousands of important and intelligent men who have never been able to grasp the doctrine for themselves or to believe it after it was explained to them.” World trade and production have accelerated Both trade and GDP fell in the late 1920s, before bottoming out in 1932. After World War II, both have risen exponentially, most of the time with trade outpacing GDP. (1950 = 100. Trade and GDP: log scale) 2000 1000 200 100 1929/32 38 48 60 70 80 90 1995
50 GATT created WTO created GDP Merchandise trade 15 MORE ON THE WEBSITE: www.wto.org > resources > WTO research and analysis Comparative advantage This is arguably the single most powerful insight into economics. Suppose country A is better than country B at making automobiles, and country B is better than country A at making bread. It is obvious (the academics would say “trivial”) that both would benefit if A specialized in automobiles, B specialized in bread and they traded their products. That is a case of absolute advantage.
But what if a country is bad at making everything? Will trade drive all producers out of business? The answer, according to Ricardo, is no. The reason is the principle of comparative advantage. It says, countries A and B still stand to benefit from trading with each other even if A is better than B at making everything. If A is much more superior at making automobiles and only slightly superior at making bread, then A should still invest resources in what it does best — producing automobiles — and export the product to B. B should still invest in what it does best — making bread — and export that product to A, even if it is not as efficient as A. Both would still benefit from the trade. A country does not have to be best at anything to gain from trade. That is comparative advantage. The theory dates back to classical economist David Ricardo. It is one of the most widely accepted among economists. It is also one of the most misunderstood among non-economists because it is confused with absolute
advantage. It is often claimed, for example, that some countries have no comparative advantage in anything. That is virtually impossible. Think about it ... 16 4. The GATT years: from Havana to Marrakesh The WTO’s creation on 1 January 1995 marked the biggest reform of international trade since after the Second World War. It also brought to reality — in an updated form — the failed attempt in 1948 to create an International Trade Organization. Much of the history of those 47 years was written in Geneva. But it also traces a journey that spanned the continents, from that hesitant start in 1948 in Havana (Cuba), via Annecy (France), Torquay (UK), Tokyo (Japan), Punta del Este (Uruguay), Montreal (Canada), Brussels (Belgium) and finally to Marrakesh (Morocco) in 1994. During that period, the trading system came under GATT, salvaged from the aborted attempt to create the ITO. GATT helped
establish a strong and prosperous multilateral trading system that became more and more liberal through rounds of trade negotiations. But by the 1980s the system needed a thorough overhaul. This led to the Uruguay Round, and ultimately to the WTO. GATT: ‘provisional’ for almost half a century From 1948 to 1994, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) provided the rules for much of world trade and presided over periods that saw some of the highest growth rates in international commerce. It seemed well-established, but throughout those 47 years, it was a provisional agreement and organization. The original intention was to create a third institution to handle the trade side of international economic cooperation, joining the two “Bretton Woods” institutions, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Over 50 countries participated in negotiations to create an International Trade Organization (ITO) as a specialized agency of the United Nations. The draft ITO Charter was ambitious. It extended beyond world trade disciplines, to include rules on employment, commodity agreements, restrictive business practices, international investment, and services. The aim was to create the ITO at a UN Conference on Trade and Employment in Havana, Cuba in 1947.
Meanwhile, 15 countries had begun talks in December 1945 to reduce and bind customs tariffs. With the Second World War only recently ended, they wanted to give an early boost to trade liberalization, and to begin to correct the legacy of protectionist measures which remained in place from the early 1930s. This first round of negotiations resulted in a package of trade rules and 45,000 tariff concessions affecting $10 billion of trade, about one fifth of the world’s total. The group had expanded to 23 by the time the deal was signed on 30 October 1947. The tariff concessions came into effect by 30 June 1948 through a “Protocol of Provisional Application”. And so the new General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was born, with 23 founding members (officially “contracting parties”). The 23 were also part of the larger group negotiating the ITO Charter. One of the provisions of GATT says that they should accept some of the trade rules of the draft. This, they believed, should be done swiftly and “provisionally” in order to protect the value of the The trade chiefs The directors-general of GATT and WTO • Sir Eric Wyndham White (UK) 1948–68
• Olivier Long (Switzerland) 1968–80 • Arthur Dunkel (Switzerland) 1980–93 • Peter Sutherland (Ireland) GATT 1993–94; WTO 1995 • Renato Ruggiero (Italy) 1995–1999 • Mike Moore (New Zealand) 1999–2002 • Supachai Panitchpakdi (Thailand) 2002– 2005 • Pascal Lamy (France) 2005– 17 tariff concessions they had negotiated. They spelt out how they envisaged the relationship between GATT and the ITO Charter, but they also allowed for the possibility that the ITO might not be created. They were right. The Havana conference began on 21 November 1947, less than a month after GATT was signed. The ITO Charter was finally agreed in Havana in March 1948, but ratification in some national legislatures proved impossible. The most serious opposition was in the US Congress, even though the US government had been one of the driving forces. In 1950, the United States government announced
that it would not seek Congressional ratification of the Havana Charter, and the ITO was effectively dead. So, the GATT became the only multilateral instrument governing international trade from 1948 until the WTO was established in 1995. For almost half a century, the GATT’s basic legal principles remained much as they were in 1948. There were additions in the form of a section on development added in the 1960s and “plurilateral” agreements (i.e. with voluntary membership) in the 1970s, and efforts to reduce tariffs further continued. Much of this was achieved through a series of multilateral negotiations known as “trade rounds” — the biggest leaps forward in international trade liberalization have come through these rounds which were held under GATT’s auspices. In the early years, the GATT trade rounds concentrated on further reducing tariffs. Then, the Kennedy Round in the mid-sixties brought about a GATT Anti-Dumping Agreement and a section on development. The Tokyo Round during the seventies was the first major attempt to tackle trade barriers that do not take the form of tariffs, and to improve the system. The eighth, the Uruguay Round of 1986–94, was the last and most extensive of all. It led to the WTO and a new set of agreements. The GATT trade rounds
Year Place/ name Subjects covered Countries 1947 Geneva Tariffs 23 1949 Annecy Tariffs 13 1951 Torquay Tariffs 38 1956 Geneva Tariffs 26 1960–1961 Geneva (Dillon Round) Tariffs 26 1964–1967 Geneva (Kennedy Round) Tariffs and anti-dumping measures 62 1973–1979 Geneva (Tokyo Round) Tariffs, non-tariff measures, “framework” agreements 102 1986–1994 Geneva (Uruguay Round) Tariffs, non-tariff measures, rules, services, intellectual property, dispute settlement, textiles, agriculture, creation of WTO, etc 123 The Tokyo Round: a first try to reform the system The Tokyo Round lasted from 1973 to 1979, with 102 countries participating. It continued GATT’s efforts to progressively reduce tariffs. The results included an average one-third cut in customs duties in the world’s nine major industrial markets, bringing the average tariff on industrial products down to 4.7%. The tariff reductions, phased in over a period of eight years, involved an element of “harmonization” — the higher the tariff, the larger the cut, proportionally. 18
In other issues, the Tokyo Round had mixed results. It failed to come to grips with the fundamental problems affecting farm trade and also stopped short of providing a modified agreement on “safeguards” (emergency import measures). Nevertheless, a series of agreements on non-tariff barriers did emerge from the negotiations, in some cases interpreting existing GATT rules, in others breaking entirely new ground. In most cases, only a relatively small number of (mainly industrialized) GATT members subscribed to these agreements and arrangements. Because they were not accepted by the full GATT membership, they were often informally called “codes”. They were not multilateral, but they were a beginning. Several codes were eventually amended in the Uruguay Round and turned into multilateral commitments accepted by all WTO members. Only four remained “plurilateral” — those on government procurement, bovine meat, civil aircraft and dairy products. In 1997 WTO members agreed to terminate the bovine meat and dairy agreements, leaving only two. Did GATT succeed? GATT was provisional with a limited field of action, but its success over 47 years in promoting and securing the liberalization of much of world trade is incontestable. Continual reductions in tariffs alone helped spur very high rates of world trade growth during the
1950s and 1960s — around 8% a year on average. And the momentum of trade liberalization helped ensure that trade growth consistently out-paced production growth throughout the GATT era, a measure of countries’ increasing ability to trade with each other and to reap the benefits of trade. The rush of new members during the Uruguay Round demonstrated that the multilateral trading system was recognized as an anchor for development and an instrument of economic and trade reform. But all was not well. As time passed new problems arose. The Tokyo Round in the 1970s was an attempt to tackle some of these but its achievements were limited. This was a sign of difficult times to come. GATT’s success in reducing tariffs to such a low level, combined with a series of economic recessions in the 1970s and early 1980s, drove governments to devise other forms of protection for sectors facing increased foreign competition. High rates of unemployment and constant factory closures led governments in Western Europe and North America to seek bilateral market-sharing arrangements with competitors and to embark on a subsidies race to maintain their holds on agricultural trade. Both these changes undermined GATT’s credibility and effectiveness.
The problem was not just a deteriorating trade policy environment. By the early 1980s the General Agreement was clearly no longer as relevant to the realities of world trade as it had been in the 1940s. For a start, world trade had become far more complex and important than 40 years before: the globalization of the world economy was underway, trade in services — not covered by GATT rules — was of major interest to more and more countries, and international investment had expanded. The expansion of services trade was also closely tied to further increases in world merchandise trade. In other respects, GATT had been found wanting. For The Tokyo Round ‘codes’ • Subsidies and countervailing measures — interpreting Articles 6, 16 and 23 of GATT • Technical barriers to trade — sometimes called the Standards Code • Import licensing procedures • Government procurement • Customs valuation — interpreting Article 7 • Anti-dumping — interpreting Article 6, replacing the Kennedy Round code
• Bovine Meat Arrangement • International Dairy Arrangement • Trade in Civil Aircraft 19 instance, in agriculture, loopholes in the multilateral system were heavily exploited, and efforts at liberalizing agricultural trade met with little success. In the textiles and clothing sector, an exception to GATT’s normal disciplines was negotiated in the 1960s and early 1970s, leading to the Multifibre Arrangement. Even GATT’s institutional structure and its dispute settlement system were causing concern. These and other factors convinced GATT members that a new effort to reinforce and extend the multilateral system should be attempted. That effort resulted in the Uruguay Round, the Marrakesh Declaration, and the creation of the WTO. Trade rounds: progress by package They are often lengthy — the Uruguay Round took seven and a half years — but trade rounds can have an advantage. They offer a package approach to trade negotiations that
can sometimes be more fruitful than negotiations on a single issue. • The size of the package can mean more benefits because participants can seek and secure advantages across a wide range of issues. • Agreement can be easier to reach, through trade-offs — somewhere in the package there should be something for everyone. This has political as well as economic implications. A government may want to make a concession, perhaps in one sector, because of the economic benefits. But politically, it could find the concession difficult to defend. A package would contain politically and economically attractive benefits in other sectors that could be used as compensation. So, reform in politically-sensitive sectors of world trade can be more feasible as part of a global package — a good example is the agreement to reform agricultural trade in the Uruguay Round. • Developing countries and other less powerful participants have a greater chance of influencing the multilateral system in a trade round than in bilateral relationships with major trading nations. But the size of a trade round can be both a strength and a weakness. From time to time, the question is asked: wouldn’t it be simpler to concentrate negotiations on a single sector?
Recent history is inconclusive. At some stages, the Uruguay Round seemed so cumbersome that it seemed impossible that all participants could agree on every subject. Then the round did end successfully in 1993–94. This was followed by two years of failure to reach agreement in the single-sector talks on maritime transport. Did this mean that trade rounds were the only route to success? No. In 1997, single-sector talks were concluded successfully in basic telecommunications, information technology equipment and financial services. The debate continues. Whatever the answer, the reasons are not straightforward. Perhaps success depends on using the right type of negotiation for the particular time and context. 20 5. The Uruguay Round It took seven and a half years, almost twice the original schedule. By the end, 123 countries were taking part. It covered almost all trade, from toothbrushes to pleasure boats, from banking to telecommunications, from the genes of wild rice to AIDS treatments. It was quite simply the largest trade negotiation ever, and most probably the largest negotiation of any kind in history. At times it seemed doomed to fail. But in the end, the Uruguay Round brought about the biggest reform of the world’s trading
system since GATT was created at the end of the Second World War. And yet, despite its troubled progress, the Uruguay Round did see some early results. Within only two years, participants had agreed on a package of cuts in import duties on tropical products — which are mainly exported by developing countries. They had also revised the rules for settling disputes, with some measures implemented on the spot. And they called for regular reports on GATT members’ trade policies, a move considered important for making trade regimes transparent around the world. A round to end all rounds? The seeds of the Uruguay Round were sown in November 1982 at a ministerial meeting of GATT members in Geneva. Although the ministers intended to launch a major new negotiation, the conference stalled on agriculture and was widely regarded as a failure. In fact, the work programme that the ministers agreed formed the basis for what was to become the Uruguay Round negotiating agenda. Nevertheless, it took four more years of exploring, clarifying issues and painstaking consensus-building, before ministers agreed to launch the new round. They did so in September 1986, in Punta del Este, Uruguay. They eventually accepted a negotiating agenda that covered virtually every outstanding trade policy issue. The talks were going to extend the trading system into several new areas, notably trade in services and intellectual property, and to reform
trade in the sensitive sectors of agriculture and textiles. All the original GATT articles were up for review. It was the biggest negotiating mandate on trade ever agreed, and the ministers gave themselves four years to complete it. Two years later, in December 1988, ministers met again in Montreal, Canada, for what was supposed to be an assessment of progress at the round’s half-way point. The purpose was to clarify the agenda for the remaining two years, but the talks ended in a deadlock that was not resolved until officials met more quietly in Geneva the following April. Despite the difficulty, during the Montreal meeting, ministers did agree a package of early results. These included some concessions on market access for tropical products — aimed at assisting developing countries — as well as a streamlined dispute settlement system, and the Trade Policy Review Mechanism which provided for the first comprehensive, systematic and regular reviews of national trade policies and practices of GATT members. The round was supposed to end when ministers met once more in Brussels, in December 1990. But they disagreed on how to reform agricultural The 1986 agenda The 15 original Uruguay Round subjects
Tariffs Non-tariff barriers Natural resource products Textiles and clothing Agriculture Tropical products GATT articles Tokyo Round codes Anti-dumping Subsidies Intellectual property Investment measures Dispute settlement The GATT system Services The Uruguay Round — Key dates Sep 86 Punta del Este: launch Dec 88 Montreal: ministerial mid-term review Apr 89 Geneva: mid-term review completed Dec 90 Brussels: “closing” ministerial meeting ends in deadlock Dec 91 Geneva: first draft of Final Act completed Nov 92 Washington: US and EC achieve “Blair House” breakthrough on agriculture Jul 93 Tokyo: Quad achieve market
access breakthrough at G7 summit Dec 93 Geneva: most negotiations end (some market access talks remain) Apr 94 Marrakesh: agreements signed Jan 95 Geneva: WTO created, agreements take effect 21 trade and decided to extend the talks. The Uruguay Round entered its bleakest period. Despite the poor political outlook, a considerable amount of technical work continued, leading to the first draft of a final legal agreement. This draft “Final Act” was compiled by the then GATT director-general, Arthur Dunkel, who chaired the negotiations at officials’ level. It was put on the table in Geneva in December 1991. The text fulfilled every part of the Punta del Este mandate, with one exception — it did not contain the participating countries’ lists of commitments for cutting import duties and opening their services markets. The draft became the basis for the final agreement. Over the following two years, the negotiations lurched between impending failure, to predictions of imminent success. Several
deadlines came and went. New points of major conflict emerged to join agriculture: services, market access, anti-dumping rules, and the proposed creation of a new institution. Differences between the United States and European Union became central to hopes for a final, successful conclusion. In November 1992, the US and EU settled most of their differences on agriculture in a deal known informally as the “Blair House accord”. By July 1993 the “Quad” (US, EU, Japan and Canada) announced significant progress in negotiations on tariffs and related subjects (“market access”). It took until 15 December 1993 for every issue to be finally resolved and for negotiations on market access for goods and services to be concluded (although some final touches were completed in talks on market access a few weeks later). On 15 April 1994, the deal was signed by ministers from most of the 123 participating governments at a meeting in Marrakesh, Morocco. The delay had some merits. It allowed some negotiations to progress further than would have been possible in 1990: for example some aspects of services and intellectual property, and the creation of the WTO itself. But the task had been immense, and negotiation-fatigue was felt in trade bureaucracies around the world. The difficulty of reaching agreement on a complete package containing almost the entire range of current trade issues led some to conclude that a negotiation on this scale would never again be
possible. Yet, the Uruguay Round agreements contain timetables for new negotiations on a number of topics. And by 1996, some countries were openly calling for a new round early in the next century. The response was mixed; but the Marrakesh agreement did already include commitments to reopen negotiations on agriculture and services at the turn of the century. These began in early 2000 and were incorporated into the Doha Development Agenda in late 2001. What happened to GATT? The WTO replaced GATT as an international organization, but the General Agreement still exists as the WTO’s umbrella treaty for trade in goods, updated as a result of the Uruguay Round negotiations. Trade lawyers distinguish between GATT 1994, the updated parts of GATT, and GATT 1947, the original agreement which is still the heart of GATT 1994. Confusing? For most of us, it’s enough to refer simply to “GATT”. 22 The post-Uruguay Round built-in agenda Many of the Uruguay Round agreements set timetables for future work. Part of this “built-in agenda” started almost immediately.
In some areas, it included new or further negotiations. In other areas, it included assessments or reviews of the situation at specified times. Some negotiations were quickly completed, notably in basic telecommunications, financial services. (Member governments also swiftly agreed a deal for freer trade in information technology products, an issue outside the “built-in agenda”.) The agenda originally built into the Uruguay Round agreements has seen additions and modifications. A number of items are now part of the Doha Agenda, some of them updated. There were well over 30 items in the original built-in agenda. This is a selection of highlights: 1996 • Maritime services: market access negotiations to end (30 June 1996, suspended to 2000, now part of Doha Development Agenda) • Services and environment: deadline for working party report (ministerial conference, December 1996) • Government procurement of services: negotiations start 1997 • Basic telecoms: negotiations end (15 February)
• Financial services: negotiations end (30 December) • Intellectual property, creating a multilateral system of notification and registration of geographical indications for wines: negotiations start, now part of Doha Development Agenda 1998 • Textiles and clothing: new phase begins 1 January • Services (emergency safeguards): results of negotiations on emergency safeguards to take effect (by 1 January 1998, deadline now March 2004) • Rules of origin: Work programme on harmonization of rules of origin to be completed (20 July 1998) • Government procurement: further negotiations start, for improving rules and procedures (by end of 1998) • Dispute settlement: full review of rules and procedures (to start by end of 1998) 1999 • Intellectual property: certain exceptions to patentability and protection of plant varieties: review starts 2000
• Agriculture: negotiations start, now part of Doha Development Agenda • Services: new round of negotiations start, now part of Doha Development Agenda • Tariff bindings: review of definition of “principle supplier” having negotiating rights under GATT Art 28 on modifying bindings • Intellectual property: first of two-yearly reviews of the implementation of the agreement 2002 • Textiles and clothing: new phase begins 1 January 2005 • Textiles and clothing: full integration into GATT and agreement expires 1 January 23 Chapter 2 The agreements The WTO is ‘rules-based’;
its rules are negotiated agreements 1. Overview: a navigational guide The WTO agreements cover goods, services and intellectual property. They spell out the principles of liberalization, and the permitted exceptions. They include individual countries’ commitments to lower customs tariffs and other trade barriers, and to open and keep open services markets. They set procedures for settling disputes. They prescribe special treatment for developing countries. They require governments to make their trade policies transparent by notifying the WTO about laws in force and measures adopted, and through regular reports by the secretariat on countries’ trade policies. These agreements are often called the WTO’s trade rules, and the WTO is often described as “rules-based”, a system based on rules. But it’s important to remember that the rules are actually agreements that governments negotiated. This chapter focuses on the Uruguay Round agreements, which are the basis of the present WTO system. Additional work is also now underway in the WTO. This is the result of decisions taken at Ministerial Conferences, in particular the meeting in Doha, November 2001, when new negotiations and other work were launched. (More on the Doha Agenda, later.) Six-part broad outline
The table of contents of “The Results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations: The Legal Texts” is a daunting list of about 60 agreements, annexes, decisions and understandings. In fact, the agreements fall into a simple structure with six main parts: an umbrella agreement (the Agreement Establishing the WTO); agreements for each of the three broad areas of trade that the WTO covers (goods, services and intellectual property); dispute settlement; and reviews of governments’ trade policies. The agreements for the two largest areas — goods and services — share a common three-part outline, even though the detail is sometimes quite different. • They start with broad principles: the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) (for goods), and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). (The third area, Trade- Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), also falls into this category although at present it has no additional parts.) • Then come extra agreements and annexes dealing with the special requirements of specific sectors or issues. • Finally, there are the detailed and lengthy schedules (or lists) of commitments made by individual countries allowing specific foreign products or service-providers access to their markets. The ‘additional details’ These agreements and annexes deal with
the following specific sectors or issues: For goods (under GATT) • Agriculture • Health regulations for farm products (SPS) • Textiles and clothing • Product standards (TBT) • Investment measures • Anti-dumping measures • Customs valuation methods • Preshipment inspection • Rules of origin • Import licensing • Subsidies and counter-measures • Safeguards For services (the GATS annexes) • Movement of natural persons • Air transport • Financial services • Shipping • Telecommunications 24 For GATT, these take the form of binding commitments on tariffs for goods in general, and combinations of tariffs and quotas for some agricultural goods. For GATS, the commitments state how much access foreign service providers are allowed for specific sectors, and they include lists of types of services where
individual countries say they are not applying the “most- favoured-nation” principle of non-discrimination. Underpinning these are dispute settlement, which is based on the agreements and commitments, and trade policy reviews, an exercise in transparency. Much of the Uruguay Round dealt with the first two parts: general principles and principles for specific sectors. At the same time, market access negotiations were possible for industrial goods. Once the principles had been worked out, negotiations could proceed on the commitments for sectors such as agriculture and services. In a nutshell The basic structure of the WTO agreements: how the six main areas fit together — the umbrella WTO Agreement, goods, services, intellectual property, disputes and trade policy reviews. Umbrella AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING WTO Goods Services Intellectual property Basic principles GATT GATS TRIPS Additional details Other goods agreements and annexes Services annexes
Market access commitments Countries’ schedules of commitments Countries’ schedules of commitments (and MFN exemptions) Dispute settlement DISPUTE SETTLEMENT Transparency TRADE POLICY REVIEWS Additional agreements Another group of agreements not included in the diagram is also important: the two “plurilateral” agreements not signed by all members: civil aircraft and government procurement. Further changes on the horizon, the Doha Agenda These agreements are not static; they are renegotiated from time to time and new agreements can be added to the package. Many are now being negotiated under the Doha Development Agenda, launched by WTO trade ministers in Doha, Qatar, in November 2001. 25 2. Tariffs: more bindings and closer to zero
The bulkiest results of Uruguay Round are the 22,500 pages listing individual countries’ commitments on specific categories of goods and services. These include commitments to cut and “bind” their customs duty rates on imports of goods. In some cases, tariffs are being cut to zero. There is also a significant increase in the number of “bound” tariffs — duty rates that are committed in the WTO and are difficult to raise. ON THE WEBSITE: www.wto.org > trade topics > goods > goods schedules www.wto.org > trade topics > services > services schedules Tariff cuts Developed countries’ tariff cuts were for the most part phased in over five years from 1 January 1995. The result is a 40% cut in their tariffs on industrial products, from an average of 6.3% to 3.8%. The value of imported industrial products that receive duty-free treatment in developed countries will jump from 20% to 44%. There will also be fewer products charged high duty rates. The proportion of imports into developed countries from all sources facing tariffs rates of more than 15% will decline from 7% to 5%. The proportion of developing country exports facing tariffs above 15% in industrial countries will fall from 9% to 5%.
The Uruguay Round package has been improved. On 26 March 1997, 40 countries accounting for more than 92% of world trade in information technology products, agreed to eliminate import duties and other charges on these products by 2000 (by 2005 in a handful of cases). As with other tariff commitments, each participating country is applying its commitments equally to exports from all WTO members (i.e. on a most-favoured-nation basis), even from members that did not make commitments. More bindings Developed countries increased the number of imports whose tariff rates are “bound” (committed and difficult to increase) from 78% of product lines to 99%. For developing countries, the increase was considerable: from 21% to 73%. Economies in transition from central planning increased their bindings from 73% to 98%. This all means a substantially higher degree of market security for traders and investors. ON THE WEBSITE: www.wto.org > trade topics > market access ‘Binding’ tariffs The market access schedules are not simply announcements of tariff rates. They represent commitments not to
increase tariffs above the listed rates — the rates are “bound”. For developed countries, the bound rates are generally the rates actually charged. Most developing countries have bound the rates somewhat higher than the actual rates charged, so the bound rates serve as ceilings. Countries can break a commitment (i.e. raise a tariff above the bound rate), but only with difficulty. To do so they have to negotiate with the countries most concerned and that could result in compensation for trading partners’ loss of trade. What is this agreement called? There is no legally binding agreement that sets out the targets for tariff reductions (e.g. by what percentage they were to be cut as a result of the Uruguay Round). Instead, individual countries listed their commitments in schedules annexed to Marrakesh Protocol to the General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade 1994. This is the legally binding agreement for the reduced tariff rates. Since then, additional commitments were made under the 1997 Information Technology Agreement. 26 > See also Doha Agenda negotiations And agriculture ... Tariffs on all agricultural products are now bound. Almost all import restrictions that did not take the form of tariffs, such as quotas, have been converted to tariffs — a process known as “tariffication”. This has made markets substantially more predictable for agriculture. Previously more than 30% of agricultural produce had faced quotas or import restrictions. The first step in “tariffication” was to replace these restrictions with tariffs that represented about the same level of protection. Then, over six years from 1995– 2000, these tariffs were gradually reduced (the reduction period for developing countries ends in 2005). The market access commitments on agriculture also eliminate previous import bans
on certain products. In addition, the lists include countries’ commitments to reduce domestic support and export subsidies for agricultural products. (See section on agriculture.) 27 3. Agriculture: fairer markets for farmers The original GATT did apply to agricultural trade, but it contained loopholes. For example, it allowed countries to use some non- tariff measures such as import quotas, and to subsidize. Agricultural trade became highly distorted, especially with the use of export subsidies which would not normally have been allowed for industrial products. The Uruguay Round produced the first multilateral agreement dedicated to the sector. It was a significant first step towards order, fair competition and a less distorted sector. It was implemented over a six year period (and is still being implemented by developing countries under their 10-year period), that began in 1995. The Uruguay Round agreement included a commitment to continue the reform through new negotiations. These were launched in 2000, as required by the Agriculture Agreement. > See also Doha Agenda negotiations
The Agriculture Agreement: new rules and commitments The objective of the Agriculture Agreement is to reform trade in the sector and to make policies more market-oriented. This would improve predictability and security for importing and exporting countries alike. The new rules and commitments apply to: • market access — various trade restrictions confronting imports • domestic support — subsidies and other programmes, including those that raise or guarantee farmgate prices and farmers’ incomes • export subsidies and other methods used to make exports artificially competitive. The agreement does allow governments to support their rural economies, but preferably through policies that cause less distortion to trade. It also allows some flexibility in the way commitments are implemented. Developing countries do not have to cut their subsidies or lower their tariffs as much as developed countries, and they are given extra time to complete their obligations. Least- developed countries don’t have to do this at all. Special provisions deal with the interests of countries that rely on imports for their food supplies, and the concerns of least-developed
economies. “Peace” provisions within the agreement aim to reduce the likelihood of disputes or challenges on agricultural subsidies over a period of nine years, until the end of 2003. What is ‘distortion’? This a key issue. Trade is distorted if prices are higher or lower than normal, and if quantities produced, bought, and sold are also higher or lower than normal — i.e. than the levels that would usually exist in a competitive market. For example, import barriers and domestic subsidies can make crops more expensive on a country’s internal market. The higher prices can encourage over- production. If the surplus is to be sold on world markets, where prices are lower, then export subsidies are needed. As a result, the subsidizing countries can be producing and exporting considerably more than they normally would. Governments usually give three reasons for supporting and protecting their farmers, even if this distorts agricultural trade: • to make sure that enough food is produced to meet the country’s needs • to shield farmers from the effects of the
weather and swings in world prices • to preserve rural society. But the policies have often been expensive, and they have created gluts leading to export subsidy wars. Countries with less money for subsidies have suffered. The debate in the negotiations is whether these objectives can be met without distorting trade. What is this agreement called? Most provisions: Agreement on Agriculture. Commitments on tariffs, tariff quotas, domestic supports, export subsidies: in schedules annexed to the Marrakesh Protocol to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994. Also: [Ministerial] Decision on Measures Concerning the Possible Negative Effects of the Reform Programme on Least- Developed and Net
Food-Importing Developing Countries. (See also: “Modalities for the establishment of specific binding commitments under the reform programme”, MTN.GNG/MA/W/24.) 28 A tariff-quota This is what a tariff-quota might look like Charged 10% Charged 80% Quota limit 1,000 tons Import quantity Tariff rate 80% 10% Out-of-quota In-quota
Imports entering under the tariff-quota (up to 1,000 tons) are generally charged 10%. Imports entering outside the tariff-quota are charged 80%. Under the Uruguay Round agreement, the 1,000 tons would be based on actual imports in the base period or an agreed “minimum access” formula. Tariff quotas are also called “tariff-rate quotas”. Numerical targets for agriculture The reductions in agricultural subsidies and protection agreed in the Uruguay Round. Only the figures for cutting export subsidies appear in the agreement. Developed countries 6 years: 1995–2000 Developing countries 10 years: 1995–2004 Tariffs average cut for all agricultural products –36% –24% minimum cut per product –15% –10%
Domestic support total AMS cuts for sector (base period: 1986–88) –20% –13% Exports value of subsidies –36% –24% subsidized quantities (base period: 1986–90) –21% –14% Least developed countries do not have to make commitments to reduce tariffs or subsidies. The base level for tariff cuts was the bound rate before 1 January 1995; or, for unbound tariffs, the actual rate charged in September 1986 when the Uruguay Round began. The other figures were targets used to calculate countries’ legally-binding “schedules” of commitments. Market access: ‘tariffs only’, please The new rule for market access in agricultural products is “tariffs only”. Before the Uruguay Round, some agricultural imports were restricted by quotas and other non-tariff measures. These have been replaced by tariffs that provide more-or-less equivalent levels of protection
— if the previous policy meant domestic prices were 75% higher than world prices, then the new tariff could be around 75%. (Converting the quotas and other types of measures to tariffs in this way was called “tariffication”.) The tariffication package contained more. It ensured that quantities imported before the agreement took effect could continue to be imported, and it guaranteed that some new quantities were charged duty rates that were not prohibitive. This was achieved by a system of “tariff-quotas” — lower tariff rates for specified quantities, higher (sometimes much higher) rates for quantities that exceed the quota. The newly committed tariffs and tariff quotas, covering all agricultural products, took effect in 1995. Uruguay Round participants agreed that developed countries would cut the tariffs (the higher out-of-quota rates in the case of tariff-quotas) by an average of 36%, in equal steps over six years. Developing countries would make 24% cuts over 10 years. Several developing countries also used the option of offering ceiling tariff rates in cases where duties were not “bound” (i.e. committed under GATT or WTO regulations) before the Uruguay Round. Least-developed countries do not have to cut their tariffs. (These figures do not actually appear in the Agriculture Agreement. Participants used them to prepare their schedules — i.e. lists of commitments. It is the commitments listed in the schedules that are legally binding.) For products whose non-tariff restrictions have been converted to tariffs, governments are allowed to take special emergency actions (“special safeguards”) in order to prevent swiftly falling prices or surges in
imports from hurting their farmers. But the agreement specifies when and how those emergency actions can be introduced (for example, they cannot be used on imports within a tariff-quota). Four countries used “special treatment” provisions to restrict imports of particularly sensitive products (mainly rice) during the implementation period (to 2000 for developed countries, to 2004 for developing nations), but subject to strictly defined conditions, including minimum access for overseas suppliers. The four were: Japan, Rep. of Korea, and the Philippines for rice; and Israel for sheepmeat, wholemilk powder and certain cheeses. Japan and Israel have now given up this right, but Rep. of Korea and the Philippines have extended their special treatment for rice. A new member, Chinese Taipei, gave special treatment to rice in its first year of membership, 2002. 29 Domestic support: some you can, some you can’t The main complaint about policies which support domestic prices, or subsidize production in some other way, is that they encourage over-production. This squeezes out imports or leads to export subsidies and low-priced dumping on world markets. The Agriculture Agreement distinguishes between support programmes that stimulate production directly, and those that are considered to have
no direct effect. Domestic policies that do have a direct effect on production and trade have to be cut back. WTO members calculated how much support of this kind they were providing per year for the agricultural sector (using calculations known as “total aggregate measurement of support” or “Total AMS”) in the base years of 1986–88. Developed countries agreed to reduce these figures by 20% over six years starting in 1995. Developing countries agreed to make 13% cuts over 10 years. Least-developed countries do not need to make any cuts. (This category of domestic support is sometimes called the “amber box”, a reference to the amber colour of traffic lights, which means “slow down”.) Measures with minimal impact on trade can be used freely — they are in a “green box” (“green” as in traffic lights). They include government services such as research, disease control, infrastructure and food security. They also include payments made directly to farmers that do not stimulate production, such as certain forms of direct income support, assistance to help farmers restructure agriculture, and direct payments under environmental and regional assistance programmes. Also permitted, are certain direct payments to farmers where the farmers are required to limit production (sometimes called “blue
box” measures), certain government assistance programmes to encourage agricultural and rural development in developing countries, and other support on a small scale (“de minimis”) when compared with the total value of the product or products supported (5% or less in the case of developed countries and 10% or less for developing countries). Export subsidies: limits on spending and quantities The Agriculture Agreement prohibits export subsidies on agricultural products unless the subsidies are specified in a member’s lists of commitments. Where they are listed, the agreement requires WTO members to cut both the amount of money they spend on export subsidies and the quantities of exports that receive subsidies. Taking averages for 1986–90 as the base level, developed countries agreed to cut the value of export subsidies by 36% over the six years starting in 1995 (24% over 10 years for developing countries). Developed countries also agreed to reduce the quantities of subsidized exports by 21% over the six years (14% over 10 years for developing countries). Least-developed countries do not need to make any cuts. During the six-year implementation period, developing countries are allowed under certain conditions to use subsidies to reduce the costs of marketing and transporting exports.
30 The least-developed and those depending on food imports Under the Agriculture Agreement, WTO members have to reduce their subsidized exports. But some importing countries depend on supplies of cheap, subsidized food from the major industrialized nations. They include some of the poorest countries, and although their farming sectors might receive a boost from higher prices caused by reduced export subsidies, they might need temporary assistance to make the necessary adjustments to deal with higher priced imports, and eventually to export. A special ministerial decision sets out objectives, and certain measures, for the provision of food aid and aid for agricultural development. It also refers to the possibility of assistance from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to finance commercial food imports. ON THE WEBSITE: www.wto.org > trade topics > goods > agriculture 31 4. Standards and safety
Article 20 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) allows governments to act on trade in order to protect human, animal or plant life or health, provided they do not discriminate or use this as disguised protectionism. In addition, there are two specific WTO agreements dealing with food safety and animal and plant health and safety, and with product standards. Food, animal and plant products: how safe is safe? Problem: How do you ensure that your country’s consumers are being supplied with food that is safe to eat — “safe” by the standards you consider appropriate? And at the same time, how can you ensure that strict health and safety regulations are not being used as an excuse for protecting domestic producers? A separate agreement on food safety and animal and plant health standards (the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Agreement or SPS) sets out the basic rules. It allows countries to set their own standards. But it also says regulations must be based on science. They should be applied only to the extent necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health. And they should not arbitrarily or unjustifiably discriminate between countries where identical or similar conditions prevail. Member countries are encouraged to use international standards, guidelines and recommendations where they exist. However, members may use measures which result in higher standards if there is scientific justification. They can also set higher
standards based on appropriate assessment of risks so long as the approach is consistent, not arbitrary. And they can to some extent apply the “precautionary principle”, a kind of “safety first” approach to deal with scientific uncertainty. Article 5.7 of the SPS Agreement allows temporary “precautionary” measures. The agreement still allows countries to use different standards and different methods of inspecting products. So how can an exporting country be sure the practices it applies to its products are acceptable in an importing country? If an exporting country can demonstrate that the measures it applies to its exports achieve the same level of health protection as in the importing country, then the importing country is expected to accept the exporting country’s standards and methods. The agreement includes provisions on control, inspection and approval procedures. Governments must provide advance notice of new or changed sanitary and phytosanitary regulations, and establish a national enquiry point to provide information. The agreement complements that on technical barriers to trade. ON THE WEBSITE: www.wto.org > trade topics > goods > sanitary and phytosanitary measures Whose international standards?
An annex to the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Agreement names: • the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission: for food • the International Animal Health Organization (Office International des Epizooties): for animal health • the FAO’s Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention: for plant health. Governments can add any other international organizations or agreements whose membership is open to all WTO members. 32 Technical regulations and standards Technical regulations and industrial standards are important, but they vary from country to country. Having too many different standards makes life difficult for producers and exporters. If the standards are set arbitrarily, they could be used as an excuse for protectionism. Standards can become obstacles to trade. The Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement (TBT) tries to ensure that regulations, standards, testing and certification
procedures do not create unnecessary obstacles. The agreement recognizes countries’ rights to adopt the standards they consider appropriate — for example, for human, animal or plant life or health, for the protection of the environment or to meet other consumer interests. Moreover, members are not prevented from taking measures necessary to ensure their standards are met. In order to prevent too much diversity, the agreement encourages countries to use international standards where these are appropriate, but it does not require them to change their levels of protection as a result. The agreement sets out a code of good practice for the preparation, adoption and application of standards by central government bodies. It also includes provisions describing how local government and non-governmental bodies should apply their own regulations — normally they should use the same principles as apply to central governments. The agreement says the procedures used to decide whether a product conforms with national standards have to be fair and equitable. It discourages any methods that would give domestically produced goods an unfair advantage. The agreement also encourages countries to recognize each other’s testing procedures. That way, a product can be assessed to see if it meets the importing
country’s standards through testing in the country where it is made. Manufacturers and exporters need to know what the latest standards are in their prospective markets. To help ensure that this information is made available conveniently, all WTO member governments are required to establish national enquiry points. ON THE WEBSITE: www.wto.org > trade topics > goods > technical barriers to trade 33 5. Textiles: back in the mainstream Textiles, like agriculture, was one of the hardest-fought issues in the WTO, as it was in the former GATT system. It has now completed fundamental change under a 10-year schedule agreed in the Uruguay Round. The system of import quotas that dominated the trade since the early 1960s have now been phased out. From 1974 until the end of the Uruguay Round, the trade was governed by the Multifibre Arrangement (MFA). This was a framework for bilateral agreements or unilateral actions that established quotas limiting imports into countries whose domestic
industries were facing serious damage from rapidly increasing imports. The quotas were the most visible feature. They conflicted with GATT’s general preference for customs tariffs instead of measures that restrict quantities. They were also exceptions to the GATT principle of treating all trading partners equally because they specified how much the importing country was going to accept from individual exporting countries. Since 1995, the WTO’s Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) took over from the Mulltifibre Arrangement. By 1 January 2005, the sector was fully integrated into normal GATT rules. In particular, the quotas came to an end, and importing countries are no longer able to discriminate between exporters. The Agreement on Textiles and Clothing no longer exists: it’s the only WTO agreement that had self-destruction built in. Integration: returning products gradually to GATT rules Textiles and clothing products were returned to GATT rules over the 10-year period. This happened gradually, in four steps, to allow time for both importers and exporters to adjust to the new situation. Some of these products were previously under quotas. Any quotas that were in place on 31 December 1994 were carried over into the new agreement. For products that had quotas, the result of integration into GATT was the removal of these quotas.
The agreement stated the percentage of products that had to be brought under GATT rules at each step. If any of these products came under quotas, then the quotas had to be removed at the same time. The percentages were applied to the importing country’s textiles and clothing trade levels in 1990. The agreement also said the quantities of imports permitted under the quotas had to grow annually, and that the rate of expansion had to increase at each stage. How fast that expansion would be was set out in a formula based on the growth rate that existed under the old Multifibre Arrangement (see table). Products brought under GATT rules at each of the first three stages had to cover the four main types of textiles and clothing: tops and yarns; fabrics; made-up textile products; and clothing. Any other restrictions that did not come under the Multifibre Arrangement and did not conform with regular WTO agreements by 1996 had to be made to conform or be phased out by 2005. 34 Four steps over 10 years The schedule for freeing textiles and garments products from import quotas (and returning them to GATT rules), and how fast remaining quotas
had to be expanded. The example is based on the commonly-used 6% annual expansion rate of the old Multifibre Arrangement. In practice, the rates used under the MFA varied from product to product. Step Percentage of products to be brought under GATT (including removal of any quotas) How fast remaining quotas should open up, if 1994 rate was 6% Step 1: 1 Jan 1995 (to 31 Dec 1997) 16% (minimum, taking 1990 imports as base) 6.96% per year Step 2: 1 Jan 1998 (to 31 Dec 2001) 17% 8.7%
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters
Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters

Recommended

Wto ppt 18 12-12
Wto ppt 18 12-12Wto ppt 18 12-12
Wto ppt 18 12-12PiyushGangwar6
 
Wto
WtoWto
Wtoajithsrc
 
WTO
WTOWTO
WTORithesh G K
 
Wto described
Wto describedWto described
Wto describedNits Kedia
 
Wto described
Wto describedWto described
Wto describedStudsPlanet.com
 
WTO world health organization
WTO world health organization WTO world health organization
WTO world health organization SANJAY KUMAR JOGAR
 
Wto, gatt
Wto, gattWto, gatt
Wto, gattMOULA HUSSAIN KHATTHEWALE
 
Wto by nasir ibal
Wto by nasir ibalWto by nasir ibal
Wto by nasir ibalnasirkhattak111
 

Recommended

Wto ppt 18 12-12
Wto ppt 18 12-12Wto ppt 18 12-12
Wto ppt 18 12-12PiyushGangwar6
 
Wto
WtoWto
Wtoajithsrc
 
WTO
WTOWTO
WTORithesh G K
 
Wto described
Wto describedWto described
Wto describedNits Kedia
 
Wto described
Wto describedWto described
Wto describedStudsPlanet.com
 
WTO world health organization
WTO world health organization WTO world health organization
WTO world health organization SANJAY KUMAR JOGAR
 
Wto, gatt
Wto, gattWto, gatt
Wto, gattMOULA HUSSAIN KHATTHEWALE
 
Wto by nasir ibal
Wto by nasir ibalWto by nasir ibal
Wto by nasir ibalnasirkhattak111
 
World Trade Organisation
World Trade OrganisationWorld Trade Organisation
World Trade OrganisationAbhiramiThirumeni1
 
Various trade organisations final
Various trade organisations finalVarious trade organisations final
Various trade organisations finalGhousia Islam
 
Notes on wto etc
Notes on wto etcNotes on wto etc
Notes on wto etcvideoaakash15
 
11543 submitted
11543 submitted11543 submitted
11543 submittedaparnashukla21
 
Wto
WtoWto
Wtouniversalfun
 
Wto intro
Wto introWto intro
Wto introsreejith s
 
WTO
WTOWTO
WTOBenjamin Kepner
 
Modi yash wto_wrd01
Modi yash wto_wrd01Modi yash wto_wrd01
Modi yash wto_wrd01Yash Modi
 
BCOM_FC_M1_Cold War and WTO GATT.pptx>>>
BCOM_FC_M1_Cold War and WTO GATT.pptx>>>BCOM_FC_M1_Cold War and WTO GATT.pptx>>>
BCOM_FC_M1_Cold War and WTO GATT.pptx>>>YASHBANGADKAR
 
World Trade Organisation. An Introduction for (future) Managers
World Trade Organisation. An Introduction for (future) ManagersWorld Trade Organisation. An Introduction for (future) Managers
World Trade Organisation. An Introduction for (future) ManagersNico Jansen LLM MBA (info@legalmarketing.nl)
 
Wto
WtoWto
WtoSunit Kapoor
 
WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement - A Business Guide for Developing Countries ...
WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement - A Business Guide for Developing Countries ...WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement - A Business Guide for Developing Countries ...
WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement - A Business Guide for Developing Countries ...Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN), CARICOM Secretariat
 
world trade organization
world trade organizationworld trade organization
world trade organizationAkeeb Siddiqui
 
General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade and the World Trade Organization
General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade and the World Trade Organization General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade and the World Trade Organization
General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade and the World Trade Organization susanhastie
 
World Trade Organization Presentation
World Trade Organization PresentationWorld Trade Organization Presentation
World Trade Organization PresentationAtieq-ur -Rehman
 
7 tradelawsbilateralandmultilateraltradeagreementsworldtradeorganizationsaarc...
7 tradelawsbilateralandmultilateraltradeagreementsworldtradeorganizationsaarc...7 tradelawsbilateralandmultilateraltradeagreementsworldtradeorganizationsaarc...
7 tradelawsbilateralandmultilateraltradeagreementsworldtradeorganizationsaarc...maddala-sravani
 
WTO - BRICS Overview
WTO - BRICS OverviewWTO - BRICS Overview
WTO - BRICS OverviewAbhishek Das Sharma
 
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO)
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO)WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO)
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO)Jyoti Rastogi
 
Wto and gatt
Wto and gattWto and gatt
Wto and gattSuditi Bhagat
 
Wto
WtoWto
Wtoheerkhant
 
. According to your textbook, Contrary to a popular misconception.docx
. According to your textbook, Contrary to a popular misconception.docx. According to your textbook, Contrary to a popular misconception.docx
. According to your textbook, Contrary to a popular misconception.docxmadlynplamondon
 
-How did artwork produced in America from 1945 to 1960 compare to ar.docx
-How did artwork produced in America from 1945 to 1960 compare to ar.docx-How did artwork produced in America from 1945 to 1960 compare to ar.docx
-How did artwork produced in America from 1945 to 1960 compare to ar.docxmadlynplamondon
 

More Related Content

Similar to Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters

Various trade organisations final
Various trade organisations finalVarious trade organisations final
Various trade organisations finalGhousia Islam
 
Modi yash wto_wrd01
Modi yash wto_wrd01Modi yash wto_wrd01
Modi yash wto_wrd01Yash Modi
 
BCOM_FC_M1_Cold War and WTO GATT.pptx>>>
BCOM_FC_M1_Cold War and WTO GATT.pptx>>>BCOM_FC_M1_Cold War and WTO GATT.pptx>>>
BCOM_FC_M1_Cold War and WTO GATT.pptx>>>YASHBANGADKAR
 
world trade organization
world trade organizationworld trade organization
world trade organizationAkeeb Siddiqui
 
General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade and the World Trade Organization
General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade and the World Trade Organization General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade and the World Trade Organization
General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade and the World Trade Organization susanhastie
 
World Trade Organization Presentation
World Trade Organization PresentationWorld Trade Organization Presentation
World Trade Organization PresentationAtieq-ur -Rehman
 
7 tradelawsbilateralandmultilateraltradeagreementsworldtradeorganizationsaarc...
7 tradelawsbilateralandmultilateraltradeagreementsworldtradeorganizationsaarc...7 tradelawsbilateralandmultilateraltradeagreementsworldtradeorganizationsaarc...
7 tradelawsbilateralandmultilateraltradeagreementsworldtradeorganizationsaarc...maddala-sravani
 
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO)
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO)WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO)
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO)Jyoti Rastogi
 

Similar to Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters (20)

World Trade Organisation
World Trade OrganisationWorld Trade Organisation
World Trade Organisation
 
Various trade organisations final
Various trade organisations finalVarious trade organisations final
Various trade organisations final
 
Notes on wto etc
Notes on wto etcNotes on wto etc
Notes on wto etc
 
11543 submitted
11543 submitted11543 submitted
11543 submitted
 
Wto
WtoWto
Wto
 
Wto intro
Wto introWto intro
Wto intro
 
WTO
WTOWTO
WTO
 
Modi yash wto_wrd01
Modi yash wto_wrd01Modi yash wto_wrd01
Modi yash wto_wrd01
 
BCOM_FC_M1_Cold War and WTO GATT.pptx>>>
BCOM_FC_M1_Cold War and WTO GATT.pptx>>>BCOM_FC_M1_Cold War and WTO GATT.pptx>>>
BCOM_FC_M1_Cold War and WTO GATT.pptx>>>
 
World Trade Organisation. An Introduction for (future) Managers
World Trade Organisation. An Introduction for (future) ManagersWorld Trade Organisation. An Introduction for (future) Managers
World Trade Organisation. An Introduction for (future) Managers
 
Wto
WtoWto
Wto
 
WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement - A Business Guide for Developing Countries ...
WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement - A Business Guide for Developing Countries ...WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement - A Business Guide for Developing Countries ...
WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement - A Business Guide for Developing Countries ...
 
world trade organization
world trade organizationworld trade organization
world trade organization
 
General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade and the World Trade Organization
General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade and the World Trade Organization General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade and the World Trade Organization
General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade and the World Trade Organization
 
World Trade Organization Presentation
World Trade Organization PresentationWorld Trade Organization Presentation
World Trade Organization Presentation
 
7 tradelawsbilateralandmultilateraltradeagreementsworldtradeorganizationsaarc...
7 tradelawsbilateralandmultilateraltradeagreementsworldtradeorganizationsaarc...7 tradelawsbilateralandmultilateraltradeagreementsworldtradeorganizationsaarc...
7 tradelawsbilateralandmultilateraltradeagreementsworldtradeorganizationsaarc...
 
WTO - BRICS Overview
WTO - BRICS OverviewWTO - BRICS Overview
WTO - BRICS Overview
 
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO)
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO)WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO)
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO)
 
Wto and gatt
Wto and gattWto and gatt
Wto and gatt
 
Wto
WtoWto
Wto
 

More from madlynplamondon

. According to your textbook, Contrary to a popular misconception.docx
. According to your textbook, Contrary to a popular misconception.docx. According to your textbook, Contrary to a popular misconception.docx
. According to your textbook, Contrary to a popular misconception.docxmadlynplamondon
 
-How did artwork produced in America from 1945 to 1960 compare to ar.docx
-How did artwork produced in America from 1945 to 1960 compare to ar.docx-How did artwork produced in America from 1945 to 1960 compare to ar.docx
-How did artwork produced in America from 1945 to 1960 compare to ar.docxmadlynplamondon
 
-Just thoughts and opinion on the reading-Consent and compen.docx
-Just thoughts and opinion on the reading-Consent and compen.docx-Just thoughts and opinion on the reading-Consent and compen.docx
-Just thoughts and opinion on the reading-Consent and compen.docxmadlynplamondon
 
. The Questioned Documents Unit (QDU) provides forensic support .docx
. The Questioned Documents Unit (QDU) provides forensic support .docx. The Questioned Documents Unit (QDU) provides forensic support .docx
. The Questioned Documents Unit (QDU) provides forensic support .docxmadlynplamondon
 
.  What is it about the fundamental nature and structure of the Olym.docx
.  What is it about the fundamental nature and structure of the Olym.docx.  What is it about the fundamental nature and structure of the Olym.docx
.  What is it about the fundamental nature and structure of the Olym.docxmadlynplamondon
 
-Learning objectives for presentation-Brief background o.docx
-Learning objectives for presentation-Brief background o.docx-Learning objectives for presentation-Brief background o.docx
-Learning objectives for presentation-Brief background o.docxmadlynplamondon
 
-You will need to play a phone game Angry Birds (any version) to mak.docx
-You will need to play a phone game Angry Birds (any version) to mak.docx-You will need to play a phone game Angry Birds (any version) to mak.docx
-You will need to play a phone game Angry Birds (any version) to mak.docxmadlynplamondon
 
. EDU 571 Week 5 Discussion 1 -Data Collection Please respond .docx
. EDU 571 Week 5 Discussion 1 -Data Collection Please respond .docx. EDU 571 Week 5 Discussion 1 -Data Collection Please respond .docx
. EDU 571 Week 5 Discussion 1 -Data Collection Please respond .docxmadlynplamondon
 
. What were the causes of World War II Explain how and why the Unit.docx
. What were the causes of World War II Explain how and why the Unit.docx. What were the causes of World War II Explain how and why the Unit.docx
. What were the causes of World War II Explain how and why the Unit.docxmadlynplamondon
 
. Complete the prewriting for the progress reportPrewriting p.docx
. Complete the prewriting for the progress reportPrewriting p.docx. Complete the prewriting for the progress reportPrewriting p.docx
. Complete the prewriting for the progress reportPrewriting p.docxmadlynplamondon
 
-in Filomena by Roberta Fernandez the author refers to the Mexican r.docx
-in Filomena by Roberta Fernandez the author refers to the Mexican r.docx-in Filomena by Roberta Fernandez the author refers to the Mexican r.docx
-in Filomena by Roberta Fernandez the author refers to the Mexican r.docxmadlynplamondon
 
-Write about a violent religious event in history.(Ex. Muslim ex.docx
-Write about a violent religious event in history.(Ex. Muslim ex.docx-Write about a violent religious event in history.(Ex. Muslim ex.docx
-Write about a violent religious event in history.(Ex. Muslim ex.docxmadlynplamondon
 
-This project is an opportunity to demonstrate the ability to analyz.docx
-This project is an opportunity to demonstrate the ability to analyz.docx-This project is an opportunity to demonstrate the ability to analyz.docx
-This project is an opportunity to demonstrate the ability to analyz.docxmadlynplamondon
 
-7 Three men are trapped in a cave with no hope of rescue and no foo.docx
-7 Three men are trapped in a cave with no hope of rescue and no foo.docx-7 Three men are trapped in a cave with no hope of rescue and no foo.docx
-7 Three men are trapped in a cave with no hope of rescue and no foo.docxmadlynplamondon
 
-1. Are the three main elements of compensation systems—internal.docx
-1. Are the three main elements of compensation systems—internal.docx-1. Are the three main elements of compensation systems—internal.docx
-1. Are the three main elements of compensation systems—internal.docxmadlynplamondon
 
- What are the key differences between national health service (.docx
- What are the key differences between national health service (.docx- What are the key differences between national health service (.docx
- What are the key differences between national health service (.docxmadlynplamondon
 
--Describe and analyze the ways in which Alfons Heck’s participation.docx
--Describe and analyze the ways in which Alfons Heck’s participation.docx--Describe and analyze the ways in which Alfons Heck’s participation.docx
--Describe and analyze the ways in which Alfons Heck’s participation.docxmadlynplamondon
 
------ Watch an online speechpresentation of 20 minutes or lo.docx
------ Watch an online speechpresentation of 20 minutes or lo.docx------ Watch an online speechpresentation of 20 minutes or lo.docx
------ Watch an online speechpresentation of 20 minutes or lo.docxmadlynplamondon
 
) Florida National UniversityNursing DepartmentBSN.docx
) Florida National UniversityNursing DepartmentBSN.docx) Florida National UniversityNursing DepartmentBSN.docx
) Florida National UniversityNursing DepartmentBSN.docxmadlynplamondon
 
- Please answer question 2 at the end of the case.- cita.docx
- Please answer question 2 at the end of the case.- cita.docx- Please answer question 2 at the end of the case.- cita.docx
- Please answer question 2 at the end of the case.- cita.docxmadlynplamondon
 

More from madlynplamondon (20)

. According to your textbook, Contrary to a popular misconception.docx
. According to your textbook, Contrary to a popular misconception.docx. According to your textbook, Contrary to a popular misconception.docx
. According to your textbook, Contrary to a popular misconception.docx
 
-How did artwork produced in America from 1945 to 1960 compare to ar.docx
-How did artwork produced in America from 1945 to 1960 compare to ar.docx-How did artwork produced in America from 1945 to 1960 compare to ar.docx
-How did artwork produced in America from 1945 to 1960 compare to ar.docx
 
-Just thoughts and opinion on the reading-Consent and compen.docx
-Just thoughts and opinion on the reading-Consent and compen.docx-Just thoughts and opinion on the reading-Consent and compen.docx
-Just thoughts and opinion on the reading-Consent and compen.docx
 
. The Questioned Documents Unit (QDU) provides forensic support .docx
. The Questioned Documents Unit (QDU) provides forensic support .docx. The Questioned Documents Unit (QDU) provides forensic support .docx
. The Questioned Documents Unit (QDU) provides forensic support .docx
 
.  What is it about the fundamental nature and structure of the Olym.docx
.  What is it about the fundamental nature and structure of the Olym.docx.  What is it about the fundamental nature and structure of the Olym.docx
.  What is it about the fundamental nature and structure of the Olym.docx
 
-Learning objectives for presentation-Brief background o.docx
-Learning objectives for presentation-Brief background o.docx-Learning objectives for presentation-Brief background o.docx
-Learning objectives for presentation-Brief background o.docx
 
-You will need to play a phone game Angry Birds (any version) to mak.docx
-You will need to play a phone game Angry Birds (any version) to mak.docx-You will need to play a phone game Angry Birds (any version) to mak.docx
-You will need to play a phone game Angry Birds (any version) to mak.docx
 
. EDU 571 Week 5 Discussion 1 -Data Collection Please respond .docx
. EDU 571 Week 5 Discussion 1 -Data Collection Please respond .docx. EDU 571 Week 5 Discussion 1 -Data Collection Please respond .docx
. EDU 571 Week 5 Discussion 1 -Data Collection Please respond .docx
 
. What were the causes of World War II Explain how and why the Unit.docx
. What were the causes of World War II Explain how and why the Unit.docx. What were the causes of World War II Explain how and why the Unit.docx
. What were the causes of World War II Explain how and why the Unit.docx
 
. Complete the prewriting for the progress reportPrewriting p.docx
. Complete the prewriting for the progress reportPrewriting p.docx. Complete the prewriting for the progress reportPrewriting p.docx
. Complete the prewriting for the progress reportPrewriting p.docx
 
-in Filomena by Roberta Fernandez the author refers to the Mexican r.docx
-in Filomena by Roberta Fernandez the author refers to the Mexican r.docx-in Filomena by Roberta Fernandez the author refers to the Mexican r.docx
-in Filomena by Roberta Fernandez the author refers to the Mexican r.docx
 
-Write about a violent religious event in history.(Ex. Muslim ex.docx
-Write about a violent religious event in history.(Ex. Muslim ex.docx-Write about a violent religious event in history.(Ex. Muslim ex.docx
-Write about a violent religious event in history.(Ex. Muslim ex.docx
 
-This project is an opportunity to demonstrate the ability to analyz.docx
-This project is an opportunity to demonstrate the ability to analyz.docx-This project is an opportunity to demonstrate the ability to analyz.docx
-This project is an opportunity to demonstrate the ability to analyz.docx
 
-7 Three men are trapped in a cave with no hope of rescue and no foo.docx
-7 Three men are trapped in a cave with no hope of rescue and no foo.docx-7 Three men are trapped in a cave with no hope of rescue and no foo.docx
-7 Three men are trapped in a cave with no hope of rescue and no foo.docx
 
-1. Are the three main elements of compensation systems—internal.docx
-1. Are the three main elements of compensation systems—internal.docx-1. Are the three main elements of compensation systems—internal.docx
-1. Are the three main elements of compensation systems—internal.docx
 
- What are the key differences between national health service (.docx
- What are the key differences between national health service (.docx- What are the key differences between national health service (.docx
- What are the key differences between national health service (.docx
 
--Describe and analyze the ways in which Alfons Heck’s participation.docx
--Describe and analyze the ways in which Alfons Heck’s participation.docx--Describe and analyze the ways in which Alfons Heck’s participation.docx
--Describe and analyze the ways in which Alfons Heck’s participation.docx
 
------ Watch an online speechpresentation of 20 minutes or lo.docx
------ Watch an online speechpresentation of 20 minutes or lo.docx------ Watch an online speechpresentation of 20 minutes or lo.docx
------ Watch an online speechpresentation of 20 minutes or lo.docx
 
) Florida National UniversityNursing DepartmentBSN.docx
) Florida National UniversityNursing DepartmentBSN.docx) Florida National UniversityNursing DepartmentBSN.docx
) Florida National UniversityNursing DepartmentBSN.docx
 
- Please answer question 2 at the end of the case.- cita.docx
- Please answer question 2 at the end of the case.- cita.docx- Please answer question 2 at the end of the case.- cita.docx
- Please answer question 2 at the end of the case.- cita.docx
 

Recently uploaded

Separation of Lanthanides/ Lanthanides and Actinides
Separation of Lanthanides/ Lanthanides and ActinidesSeparation of Lanthanides/ Lanthanides and Actinides
Separation of Lanthanides/ Lanthanides and ActinidesFatimaKhan178732
 
Hybridoma Technology ( Production , Purification , and Application )
Hybridoma Technology ( Production , Purification , and Application ) Hybridoma Technology ( Production , Purification , and Application )
Hybridoma Technology ( Production , Purification , and Application ) Sakshi Ghasle
 
mini mental status format.docx
mini mental status format.docxmini mental status format.docx
mini mental status format.docxPoojaSen20
 
Activity 01 - Artificial Culture (1).pdf
Activity 01 - Artificial Culture (1).pdfActivity 01 - Artificial Culture (1).pdf
Activity 01 - Artificial Culture (1).pdfciinovamais
 
Privatization and Disinvestment - Meaning, Objectives, Advantages and Disadva...
Privatization and Disinvestment - Meaning, Objectives, Advantages and Disadva...Privatization and Disinvestment - Meaning, Objectives, Advantages and Disadva...
Privatization and Disinvestment - Meaning, Objectives, Advantages and Disadva...RKavithamani
 
Interactive Powerpoint_How to Master effective communication
Interactive Powerpoint_How to Master effective communicationInteractive Powerpoint_How to Master effective communication
Interactive Powerpoint_How to Master effective communicationnomboosow
 
Mastering the Unannounced Regulatory Inspection
Mastering the Unannounced Regulatory InspectionMastering the Unannounced Regulatory Inspection
Mastering the Unannounced Regulatory InspectionSafetyChain Software
 
Paris 2024 Olympic Geographies - an activity
Paris 2024 Olympic Geographies - an activityParis 2024 Olympic Geographies - an activity
Paris 2024 Olympic Geographies - an activityGeoBlogs
 
Z Score,T Score, Percential Rank and Box Plot Graph
Z Score,T Score, Percential Rank and Box Plot GraphZ Score,T Score, Percential Rank and Box Plot Graph
Z Score,T Score, Percential Rank and Box Plot GraphThiyagu K
 
Software Engineering Methodologies (overview)
Software Engineering Methodologies (overview)Software Engineering Methodologies (overview)
Software Engineering Methodologies (overview)eniolaolutunde
 
Arihant handbook biology for class 11 .pdf
Arihant handbook biology for class 11 .pdfArihant handbook biology for class 11 .pdf
Arihant handbook biology for class 11 .pdfchloefrazer622
 
Grant Readiness 101 TechSoup and Remy Consulting
Grant Readiness 101 TechSoup and Remy ConsultingGrant Readiness 101 TechSoup and Remy Consulting
Grant Readiness 101 TechSoup and Remy ConsultingTechSoup
 
Sanyam Choudhary Chemistry practical.pdf
Sanyam Choudhary Chemistry practical.pdfSanyam Choudhary Chemistry practical.pdf
Sanyam Choudhary Chemistry practical.pdfsanyamsingh5019
 
Kisan Call Centre - To harness potential of ICT in Agriculture by answer farm...
Kisan Call Centre - To harness potential of ICT in Agriculture by answer farm...Kisan Call Centre - To harness potential of ICT in Agriculture by answer farm...
Kisan Call Centre - To harness potential of ICT in Agriculture by answer farm...Krashi Coaching
 
Presentation by Andreas Schleicher Tackling the School Absenteeism Crisis 30 ...
Presentation by Andreas Schleicher Tackling the School Absenteeism Crisis 30 ...Presentation by Andreas Schleicher Tackling the School Absenteeism Crisis 30 ...
Presentation by Andreas Schleicher Tackling the School Absenteeism Crisis 30 ...EduSkills OECD
 
Industrial Policy - 1948, 1956, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1991
Industrial Policy - 1948, 1956, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1991Industrial Policy - 1948, 1956, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1991
Industrial Policy - 1948, 1956, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1991RKavithamani
 
How to Make a Pirate ship Primary Education.pptx
How to Make a Pirate ship Primary Education.pptxHow to Make a Pirate ship Primary Education.pptx
How to Make a Pirate ship Primary Education.pptxmanuelaromero2013
 
Contemporary philippine arts from the regions_PPT_Module_12 [Autosaved] (1).pptx
Contemporary philippine arts from the regions_PPT_Module_12 [Autosaved] (1).pptxContemporary philippine arts from the regions_PPT_Module_12 [Autosaved] (1).pptx
Contemporary philippine arts from the regions_PPT_Module_12 [Autosaved] (1).pptxRoyAbrique
 

Recently uploaded (20)

Separation of Lanthanides/ Lanthanides and Actinides
Separation of Lanthanides/ Lanthanides and ActinidesSeparation of Lanthanides/ Lanthanides and Actinides
Separation of Lanthanides/ Lanthanides and Actinides
 
Hybridoma Technology ( Production , Purification , and Application )
Hybridoma Technology ( Production , Purification , and Application ) Hybridoma Technology ( Production , Purification , and Application )
Hybridoma Technology ( Production , Purification , and Application )
 
mini mental status format.docx
mini mental status format.docxmini mental status format.docx
mini mental status format.docx
 
Activity 01 - Artificial Culture (1).pdf
Activity 01 - Artificial Culture (1).pdfActivity 01 - Artificial Culture (1).pdf
Activity 01 - Artificial Culture (1).pdf
 
Privatization and Disinvestment - Meaning, Objectives, Advantages and Disadva...
Privatization and Disinvestment - Meaning, Objectives, Advantages and Disadva...Privatization and Disinvestment - Meaning, Objectives, Advantages and Disadva...
Privatization and Disinvestment - Meaning, Objectives, Advantages and Disadva...
 
Interactive Powerpoint_How to Master effective communication
Interactive Powerpoint_How to Master effective communicationInteractive Powerpoint_How to Master effective communication
Interactive Powerpoint_How to Master effective communication
 
Mastering the Unannounced Regulatory Inspection
Mastering the Unannounced Regulatory InspectionMastering the Unannounced Regulatory Inspection
Mastering the Unannounced Regulatory Inspection
 
Paris 2024 Olympic Geographies - an activity
Paris 2024 Olympic Geographies - an activityParis 2024 Olympic Geographies - an activity
Paris 2024 Olympic Geographies - an activity
 
Mattingly "AI & Prompt Design: Structured Data, Assistants, & RAG"
Mattingly "AI & Prompt Design: Structured Data, Assistants, & RAG"Mattingly "AI & Prompt Design: Structured Data, Assistants, & RAG"
Mattingly "AI & Prompt Design: Structured Data, Assistants, & RAG"
 
Z Score,T Score, Percential Rank and Box Plot Graph
Z Score,T Score, Percential Rank and Box Plot GraphZ Score,T Score, Percential Rank and Box Plot Graph
Z Score,T Score, Percential Rank and Box Plot Graph
 
INDIA QUIZ 2024 RLAC DELHI UNIVERSITY.pptx
INDIA QUIZ 2024 RLAC DELHI UNIVERSITY.pptxINDIA QUIZ 2024 RLAC DELHI UNIVERSITY.pptx
INDIA QUIZ 2024 RLAC DELHI UNIVERSITY.pptx
 
Software Engineering Methodologies (overview)
Software Engineering Methodologies (overview)Software Engineering Methodologies (overview)
Software Engineering Methodologies (overview)
 
Arihant handbook biology for class 11 .pdf
Arihant handbook biology for class 11 .pdfArihant handbook biology for class 11 .pdf
Arihant handbook biology for class 11 .pdf
 
Grant Readiness 101 TechSoup and Remy Consulting
Grant Readiness 101 TechSoup and Remy ConsultingGrant Readiness 101 TechSoup and Remy Consulting
Grant Readiness 101 TechSoup and Remy Consulting
 
Sanyam Choudhary Chemistry practical.pdf
Sanyam Choudhary Chemistry practical.pdfSanyam Choudhary Chemistry practical.pdf
Sanyam Choudhary Chemistry practical.pdf
 
Kisan Call Centre - To harness potential of ICT in Agriculture by answer farm...
Kisan Call Centre - To harness potential of ICT in Agriculture by answer farm...Kisan Call Centre - To harness potential of ICT in Agriculture by answer farm...
Kisan Call Centre - To harness potential of ICT in Agriculture by answer farm...
 
Presentation by Andreas Schleicher Tackling the School Absenteeism Crisis 30 ...
Presentation by Andreas Schleicher Tackling the School Absenteeism Crisis 30 ...Presentation by Andreas Schleicher Tackling the School Absenteeism Crisis 30 ...
Presentation by Andreas Schleicher Tackling the School Absenteeism Crisis 30 ...
 
Industrial Policy - 1948, 1956, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1991
Industrial Policy - 1948, 1956, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1991Industrial Policy - 1948, 1956, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1991
Industrial Policy - 1948, 1956, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1991
 
How to Make a Pirate ship Primary Education.pptx
How to Make a Pirate ship Primary Education.pptxHow to Make a Pirate ship Primary Education.pptx
How to Make a Pirate ship Primary Education.pptx
 
Contemporary philippine arts from the regions_PPT_Module_12 [Autosaved] (1).pptx
Contemporary philippine arts from the regions_PPT_Module_12 [Autosaved] (1).pptxContemporary philippine arts from the regions_PPT_Module_12 [Autosaved] (1).pptx
Contemporary philippine arts from the regions_PPT_Module_12 [Autosaved] (1).pptx
 

Understanding the WTO in 40 Characters

  • 1. Understanding the WTO 3rd edition Previously published as “Trading into the Future” September 2003, revised October 2005 2 Fact file The WTO Location: Geneva, Switzerland Established: 1 January 1995 Created by: Uruguay Round negotiations (1986–94) Membership: 148 countries (since 13 October 2004) Budget: 169 million Swiss francs for 2005 Secretariat staff: 630 Head: Pascal Lamy (director-general) Functions: • Administering WTO trade agreements
  • 2. • Forum for trade negotiations • Handling trade disputes • Monitoring national trade policies • Technical assistance and training for developing countries • Cooperation with other international organizations Third edition Previously published as “Trading into the Future” Written and published by the World Trade Organization Information and Media Relations Division © WTO 1995, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005 An up-to-date version of this text also appears on the WTO website (http://www.wto.org, click on “the WTO”), where it is regularly updated to reflect developments in the WTO.
  • 3. Contact the WTO Information Division rue de Lausanne 154, CH–1211 Genève 21, Switzerland Tel: (41–22) 739 5007/5190 Fax: (41–22) 739 5458 e-mail: [email protected] Contact WTO Publications rue de Lausanne 154, CH–1211 Genève 21, Switzerland Tel: (41–22) 739 5208/5308 Fax: (41–22) 739 5792 e-mail: [email protected] Printed: October 2005 — 14 000 copies 3 The first step is to talk. Essentially, the WTO is a place where member governments go, to try to sort out the trade problems they face with each other. At its heart are WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations. But the WTO is not just about liberalizing trade, and in some circumstances its rules support maintaining trade barriers — for example to protect consumers or prevent the spread of disease.
  • 4. 4 Abbreviations Some of the abbreviations and acronyms used in the WTO: ACP African, Caribbean and Pacific Group (Lomé Convention) AD, A-D Anti-dumping measures AFTA ASEAN Free Trade Area AMS Aggregate measurement of support (agriculture) APEC Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations ATC Agreement on Textiles and Clothing CBD Convention on Biological Diversity CCC (former) Customs Co-operation Council (now WCO) CER [Australia New Zealand] Closer Economic Relations [Trade Agreement] (also ANCERTA) COMESA Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa CTD Committee on Trade and Development
  • 5. CTE Committee on Trade and Environment CVD Countervailing duty (subsidies) DDA Doha Development Agenda DSB Dispute Settlement Body DSU Dispute Settlement Understanding EC European Communities EFTA European Free Trade Association EU European Union (officially European Communities in WTO) FAO Food and Agriculture Organization GATS General Agreement on Trade in Services GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade GSP Generalized System of Preferences HS Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System ICITO Interim Commission for the International Trade Organization ILO International Labour Organization IMF International Monetary Fund ITC International Trade Centre
  • 6. ITO International Trade Organization MEA Multilateral environmental agreement MERCOSUR Southern Common Market MFA Multifibre Arrangement (replaced by ATC) MFN Most-favoured-nation MTN Multilateral trade negotiations NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement PSE Producer subsidy equivalent (agriculture) PSI Pre-shipment inspection S&D, SDT Special and differential treatment (for developing countries) SAARC South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation SDR Special Drawing Rights (IMF) SELA Latin American Economic System SPS Sanitary and phytosanitary measures TBT Technical barriers to trade TMB Textiles Monitoring Body TNC Trade Negotiations Committee TPRB Trade Policy Review Body
  • 7. TPRM Trade Policy Review Mechanism TRIMs Trade-related investment measures TRIPS Trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights UN United Nations 5 UNCTAD UN Conference on Trade and Development UNDP UN Development Programme UNEP UN Environment Programme UPOV International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants UR Uruguay Round VER Voluntary export restraint VRA Voluntary restraint agreement WCO World Customs Organization WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization WTO World Trade Organization For a comprehensive list of abbreviations and glossary of terms
  • 8. used in international trade, see, for example: Walter Goode, Dictionary of Trade Policy Terms, 4th Edition, WTO/Cambridge University Press, 2003. This and many other publications on the WTO and trade are available from: WTO Publications, World Trade Organization, Centre William Rappard, Rue de Lausanne 154, CH–1211 Geneva, Switzerland. Tel (+41–22) 739 5208 / 739 5308. Fax: (+41–22) 739 5792 e-mail: [email protected] ON THE WEBSITE You can find more information on WTO activities and issues on the WTO website. The site is created around “gateways” leading to various subjects — for example, the “trade topics” gateway or the “Doha Development Agenda” gateway. Each gateway provides links to all material on its subject. References in this text show you where to find the material. This is in the form of a path through gateways, starting with one of the navigation links in the top right of the homepage or any other page on the site. For example, to find material on the agriculture negotiations, you go through this series of gateways and links: www.wto.org > trade topics > goods > agriculture > agriculture negotiations You can follow this path, either by clicking directly on the links, or via drop-down menus that will appear in most browsers when you place your cursor over the “trade topics” link at the top of any web page on the site.
  • 9. A word of caution: the fine print While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the text in this booklet, it cannot be taken as an official legal interpretation of the agreements. In addition, some simplifications are used in order to keep the text simple and clear. In particular, the words “country” and “nation” are frequently used to describe WTO members, whereas a few members are officially “customs territories”, and not necessarily countries in the usual sense of the word (see list of members). The same applies when participants in trade negotiations are called “countries” or “nations”. Where there is little risk of misunderstanding, the word “member” is dropped from “member countries (nations, governments)”, for example in the descriptions of the WTO agreements. Naturally, the agreements and commitments do not apply to non-members. In some parts of the text, GATT is described as an “international organization”. The phrase reflects GATT’s de facto role before the WTO was created, and it is used simplistically here to help readers understand that role. As the text points out, this role was always ad hoc, without a proper legal foundation. International law did not recognize GATT as an organization. For simplicity, the text uses the term “GATT members”. Officially, since GATT was a treaty and not a legally- established organization, GATT signatories were “contracting parties”. And, for easier reading, article numbers in GATT and GATS
  • 10. have been translated from Roman numbers into European digits. 6 Contents Chapter 1 ............................................................................................... ....... 9 Basics ............................................................................................... ............ 9 1. What is the World Trade Organization? ....................................................... 9 Is it a bird, is it a plane? .......................................................................................9 Born in 1995, but not so young ...........................................................................10 2. Principles of the trading system .................................................................11 Trade without discrimination ...............................................................................11 Freer trade: gradually, through negotiation ...........................................................12 Predictability: through binding and transparency....................................................12 Promoting fair competition ..................................................................................13 Encouraging development and economic reform ....................................................13
  • 11. 3. The case for open trade ..............................................................................14 4. The GATT years: from Havana to Marrakesh ...............................................16 GATT: ‘provisional’ for almost half a century..........................................................16 The Tokyo Round: a first try to reform the system .................................................17 Did GATT succeed? ............................................................................................1 8 5. The Uruguay Round ....................................................................................20 A round to end all rounds? ..................................................................................20 What happened to GATT?.................................................................................... 21 The post-Uruguay Round built-in agenda ..............................................................22 Chapter 2 .................................................................................... ........... ..... 23 The agreements .......................................................................................... 23 1. Overview: a navigational guide ..................................................................23 Six-part broad outline.................................................................................... .....23 Additional agreements ........................................................................................24
  • 12. Further changes on the horizon, the Doha Agenda .................................................24 2. Tariffs: more bindings and closer to zero....................................................25 Tariff cuts ......................................................................................... ...... ..........25 More bindings.................................................................................. ..................25 And agriculture ... .............................................................................................. 26 3. Agriculture: fairer markets for farmers ......................................................27 The Agriculture Agreement: new rules and commitments ........................................27 The least-developed and those depending on food imports......................................30 4. Standards and safety..................................................................................31 Food, animal and plant products: how safe is safe? ................................................31 Technical regulations and standards .....................................................................32 5. Textiles: back in the mainstream................................................................33 Integration: returning products gradually to GATT rules..........................................33 6. Services: rules for growth and investment .................................................36
  • 13. GATS explained ........................................................................................ ....... ..36 Current work ............................................................................................... ......39 7. Intellectual property: protection and enforcement .....................................42 Origins: into the rule-based trade system .............................................................42 Basic principles: national treatment, MFN, and balanced protection ..........................43 How to protect intellectual property: common ground- rules.....................................43 Enforcement: tough but fair ................................................................................46 Technology transfer ...........................................................................................46 Transition arrangements: 1, 5 or 11 years or more ................................................47 8. Anti-dumping, subsidies, safeguards: contingencies, etc............................48 Anti-dumping actions .........................................................................................48 Subsidies and countervailing measures .................................................................49 Safeguards: emergency protection from imports....................................................51 9. Non-tariff barriers: red tape, etc ................................................................53 Import licensing: keeping procedures clear ...........................................................53 Rules for the valuation of goods at customs
  • 14. ..........................................................53 Preshipment inspection: a further check on imports ...............................................54 Rules of origin: made in ... where?.......................................................................54 Investment measures: reducing trade distortions...................................................55 10. Plurilaterals: of minority interest .............................................................56 Fair trade in civil aircraft .....................................................................................56 Government procurement: opening up for competition ...........................................56 Dairy and bovine meat agreements: ended in 1997................................................57 11. Trade policy reviews: ensuring transparency ...........................................58 Chapter 3 ............................................................................................... ..... 59 Settling disputes ......................................................................................... 59 1. A unique contribution .................................................................................59 Principles: equitable, fast, effective, mutually acceptable ........................................59 How are disputes settled? ...................................................................................60 Appeals ......................................................................................... ...... .............61 The case has been decided: what next? ................................................................61
  • 15. 2. The panel process.................................................................................... ...63 3. Case study: the timetable in practice..........................................................64 Chapter 4 ............................................................................................... ..... 66 Cross-cutting and new issues ..................................................................... 66 1. Regionalism: friends or rivals? ...................................................................67 Regional trading arrangements ............................................................................67 2. The environment: a specific concern ..........................................................69 7 The committee: broad-based responsibility ...........................................................69 WTO and environmental agreements: how are they related? ...................................69 Disputes: where should they be handled? .............................................................70 A WTO dispute: The ‘shrimp-turtle’ case ...............................................................71 A GATT dispute: The tuna-dolphin dispute.............................................................73 Eco-labelling: good, if it doesn’t discriminate
  • 16. .........................................................74 Transparency: information without too much paperwork .........................................74 Domestically prohibited goods: dangerous chemicals, etc........................................75 Liberalization and sustainable development: good for each other .............................75 Intellectual property, services: some scope for study..............................................75 3. Investment, competition, procurement, simpler procedures ......................76 Investment and competition: what role for the WTO? .............................................76 Transparency in government purchases: towards multilateral rules ..........................77 Trade facilitation: a new high profile.....................................................................77 4. Electronic commerce ..................................................................................78 5. Labour standards: highly controversial ......................................................79 Trade and labour rights: deferred to the ILO .........................................................79 Chapter 5 ............................................................................................... ..... 80 The Doha agenda ........................................................................................ 80 Implementation-related issues and concerns (par 12).............................................80 Agriculture (par 13, 14) .....................................................................................83
  • 17. Services (par 15) ............................................................................................... 84 Market access for non-agricultural products (par 16) ..............................................85 Trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) (pars 17–19) ................86 Relationship between trade and investment (pars 20–22) .......................................87 Interaction between trade and competition policy (pars 23–25) ...............................88 Transparency in government procurement (par 26)................................................89 Trade facilitation (par 27) ...................................................................................89 WTO rules: anti-dumping and subsidies (par 28) ...................................................90 WTO rules: regional trade agreements (par 29) .....................................................90 Dispute Settlement Understanding (par 30)...........................................................91 Trade and environment (pars 31–33) ...................................................................91 Electronic commerce (par 34)..............................................................................93 Small economies (par 35) ...................................................................................93 Trade, debt and finance (par 36) .........................................................................93 Trade and technology transfer (par 37) ................................................................93 Technical cooperation and capacity building (pars 38–41) .......................................94 Least-developed countries (pars 42, 43) ...............................................................95 Special and differential treatment (par 44)
  • 18. ............................................................95 Cancún 2003, Hong Kong 2005 ...........................................................................96 Chapter 6 ............................................................................................... ..... 97 Developing countries .................................................................................. 97 1. Overview ............................................................................................... .....97 In the agreements: more time, better terms .........................................................97 Legal assistance: a Secretariat service..................................................................98 Least-developed countries: special focus...............................................................98 A ‘maison’ in Geneva: being present is important, but not easy for all ......................98 2. Committees .............................................................................................. 100 Trade and Development Committee ................................................................... 100 Subcommittee on Least-Developed Countries ...................................................... 100 The Doha agenda committees ........................................................................... 100 3. WTO technical cooperation .......................................................................101 Training, seminars and workshops ..................................................................... 101
  • 19. 4. Some issues raised ...................................................................................102 Participation in the system: opportunities and concerns ........................................ 102 Erosion of preferences ...................................................................................... 103 The ability to adapt: the supply- side................................................................... 103 Chapter 7 ............................................................................................... ... 104 The Organization ...................................................................................... 104 1. Whose WTO is it anyway?.........................................................................104 Highest authority: the Ministerial Conference....................................................... 104 Second level: General Council in three guises ...................................................... 105 Third level: councils for each broad area of trade, and more.................................. 107 Fourth level: down to the nitty- gritty.................................................................. 107 ‘HODs’ and other bods: the need for informality................................................... 107 2. Membership, alliances and bureaucracy ...................................................109 How to join the WTO: the accession process........................................................ 109 Representing us .............................................................................................. 110
  • 20. Representing groups of countries ... ................................................................... 110 The WTO Secretariat and budget ....................................................................... 111 3. The Secretariat .........................................................................................112 4. Special policies .........................................................................................113 Assisting developing and transition economies ..................................................... 113 Specialized help for exporting: the International Trade Centre ............................... 113 The WTO in global economic policy-making ......................................................... 114 Transparency (1): keeping the WTO informed ..................................................... 114 Transparency (2): keeping the public informed .................................................... 114 9 Chapter 1 Basics The WTO was born out of negotiations; everything the WTO does is the result of
  • 21. negotiations 1. What is the World Trade Organization? Simply put: the World Trade Organization (WTO) deals with the rules of trade between nations at a global or near-global level. But there is more to it than that. Is it a bird, is it a plane? There are a number of ways of looking at the WTO. It’s an organization for liberalizing trade. It’s a forum for governments to negotiate trade agreements. It’s a place for them to settle trade disputes. It operates a system of trade rules. (But it’s not Superman, just in case anyone thought it could solve — or cause — all the world’s problems!) Above all, it’s a negotiating forum … Essentially, the WTO is a place where member governments go, to try to sort out the trade problems they face with each other. The first step is to talk. The WTO was born out of negotiations, and everything the WTO does is the result of negotiations. The bulk of the WTO’s current work comes from the 1986–94 negotiations called the Uruguay Round and earlier negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The WTO is currently the host to new negotiations,
  • 22. under the “Doha Development Agenda” launched in 2001. Where countries have faced trade barriers and wanted them lowered, the negotiations have helped to liberalize trade. But the WTO is not just about liberalizing trade, and in some circumstances its rules support maintaining trade barriers — for example to protect consumers or prevent the spread of disease. It’s a set of rules … At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations. These documents provide the legal ground-rules for international commerce. They are essentially contracts, binding governments to keep their trade policies within agreed limits. Although negotiated and signed by governments, the goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business, while allowing governments to meet social and environmental objectives. The system’s overriding purpose is to help trade flow as freely as possible — so long as there are no undesirable side-effects. That partly means removing obstacles. It also means ensuring that individuals, companies and governments know what the trade rules are around the world, and giving them the confidence that there will be no sudden changes of policy. In other words, the rules have
  • 23. to be “transparent” and predictable. ‘Multilateral’ trading system ... ... i.e. the system operated by the WTO. Most nations — including almost all the main trading nations — are members of the system. But some are not, so “multilateral” is used to describe the system instead of “global” or “world”. In WTO affairs, “multilateral” also contrasts with actions taken regionally or by other smaller groups of countries. (This is different from the word’s use in other areas of international relations where, for example, a “multilateral” security arrangement can be regional.) ... OR IS IT A TABLE? Participants in a recent radio discussion on the WTO were full of ideas. The WTO should do this, the WTO should do that, they said. One of them finally interjected: “Wait a minute. The WTO is a table. People sit round the table and negotiate.
  • 24. What do you expect the table to do?” 10 And it helps to settle disputes … This is a third important side to the WTO’s work. Trade relations often involve conflicting interests. Agreements, including those painstakingly negotiated in the WTO system, often need interpreting. The most harmonious way to settle these differences is through some neutral procedure based on an agreed legal foundation. That is the purpose behind the dispute settlement process written into the WTO agreements. Born in 1995, but not so young The WTO began life on 1 January 1995, but its trading system is half a century older. Since 1948, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) had provided the rules for the system. (The second WTO ministerial meeting, held in Geneva in May 1998, included a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the system.) It did not take long for the General Agreement to give birth to an unofficial, de facto international organization, also known informally as GATT. Over the years GATT evolved through several rounds of
  • 25. negotiations. The last and largest GATT round, was the Uruguay Round which lasted from 1986 to 1994 and led to the WTO’s creation. Whereas GATT had mainly dealt with trade in goods, the WTO and its agreements now cover trade in services, and in traded inventions, creations and designs (intellectual property). 11 2. Principles of the trading system The WTO agreements are lengthy and complex because they are legal texts covering a wide range of activities. They deal with: agriculture, textiles and clothing, banking, telecommunications, government purchases, industrial standards and product safety, food sanitation regulations, intellectual property, and much more. But a number of simple, fundamental principles run throughout all of these documents. These principles are the foundation of the multilateral trading system. A closer look at these principles: Trade without discrimination 1. Most-favoured-nation (MFN): treating other people equally Under the WTO agreements, countries cannot
  • 26. normally discriminate between their trading partners. Grant someone a special favour (such as a lower customs duty rate for one of their products) and you have to do the same for all other WTO members. This principle is known as most-favoured-nation (MFN) treatment (see box). It is so important that it is the first article of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which governs trade in goods. MFN is also a priority in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) (Article 2) and the Agreement on Trade- Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) (Article 4), although in each agreement the principle is handled slightly differently. Together, those three agreements cover all three main areas of trade handled by the WTO. Some exceptions are allowed. For example, countries can set up a free trade agreement that applies only to goods traded within the group — discriminating against goods from outside. Or they can give developing countries special access to their markets. Or a country can raise barriers against products that are considered to be traded unfairly from specific countries. And in services, countries are allowed, in limited circumstances, to discriminate. But the agreements only permit these exceptions under strict conditions. In
  • 27. general, MFN means that every time a country lowers a trade barrier or opens up a market, it has to do so for the same goods or services from all its trading partners — whether rich or poor, weak or strong. 2. National treatment: Treating foreigners and locals equally Imported and locally-produced goods should be treated equally — at least after the foreign goods have entered the market. The same should apply to foreign and domestic services, and to foreign and local trademarks, copyrights and patents. This principle of “national treatment” (giving others the same treatment as one’s own nationals) is also found in all the three main WTO agreements (Article 3 of GATT, Article 17 of GATS and Article 3 of TRIPS), although once again the principle is handled slightly differently in each of these. National treatment only applies once a product, service or item of intellectual property has entered the market. Therefore, charging customs duty on an import is not a violation of national treatment even if locally-produced products are not charged an equivalent tax. Why ‘most-favoured’?
  • 28. This sounds like a contradiction. It suggests special treatment, but in the WTO it actually means non-discrimination — treating virtually everyone equally. This is what happens. Each member treats all the other members equally as “most-favoured” trading partners. If a country improves the benefits that it gives to one trading partner, it has to give the same “best” treatment to all the other WTO members so that they all remain “most-favoured”. Most-favoured nation (MFN) status did not always mean equal treatment. The first bilateral MFN treaties set up exclusive clubs among a country’s “most- favoured” trading partners. Under GATT and now the WTO, the MFN club is no longer exclusive. The MFN principle ensures that each country treats its over- 140 fellow-members equally. But there are some exceptions ... The principles The trading system should be ... • without discrimination — a country should not discriminate between its trading partners (giving them equally “most-favoured-nation” or MFN status); and it should not discriminate between its own and foreign products, services or
  • 29. nationals (giving them “national treatment”); • freer — barriers coming down through negotiation; • predictable — foreign companies, investors and governments should be confident that trade barriers (including tariffs and non-tariff barriers) should not be raised arbitrarily; tariff rates and market-opening commitments are “bound” in the WTO; • more competitive — discouraging “unfair” practices such as export subsidies and dumping products at below cost to gain market share; • more beneficial for less developed countries — giving them more time to adjust, greater flexibility, and special privileges. 12 Freer trade: gradually, through negotiation Lowering trade barriers is one of the most obvious means of encouraging trade. The barriers concerned include customs duties (or tariffs) and measures such as import bans or quotas that restrict quantities selectively. From time to time other issues such as
  • 30. red tape and exchange rate policies have also been discussed. Since GATT’s creation in 1947–48 there have been eight rounds of trade negotiations. A ninth round, under the Doha Development Agenda, is now underway. At first these focused on lowering tariffs (customs duties) on imported goods. As a result of the negotiations, by the mid-1990s industrial countries’ tariff rates on industrial goods had fallen steadily to less than 4%. But by the 1980s, the negotiations had expanded to cover non- tariff barriers on goods, and to the new areas such as services and intellectual property. Opening markets can be beneficial, but it also requires adjustment. The WTO agreements allow countries to introduce changes gradually, through “progressive liberalization”. Developing countries are usually given longer to fulfil their obligations. Predictability: through binding and transparency Sometimes, promising not to raise a trade barrier can be as important as lowering one, because the promise gives businesses a clearer view of their future opportunities. With stability and predictability, investment is encouraged, jobs are created and consumers can fully enjoy the benefits of competition — choice and lower prices. The multilateral trading system is an attempt by governments to make the business environment stable and
  • 31. predictable. In the WTO, when countries agree to open their markets for goods or services, they “bind” their commitments. For goods, these bindings amount to ceilings on customs tariff rates. Sometimes countries tax imports at rates that are lower than the bound rates. Frequently this is the case in developing countries. In developed countries the rates actually charged and the bound rates tend to be the same. A country can change its bindings, but only after negotiating with its trading partners, which could mean compensating them for loss of trade. One of the achievements of the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade talks was to increase the amount of trade under binding commitments (see table). In agriculture, 100% of products now have bound tariffs. The result of all this: a substantially higher degree of market security for traders and investors. The system tries to improve predictability and stability in other ways as well. One way is to discourage the use of quotas and other measures used to set limits on quantities of imports — administering quotas can lead to more red-tape and accusations of unfair play. Another is to make countries’ trade rules as clear and public (“transparent”) as possible. Many WTO agreements require
  • 32. governments to disclose their policies and practices publicly within the country or by notifying the WTO. The regular surveillance of 13 national trade policies through the Trade Policy Review Mechanism provides a further means of encouraging transparency both domestically and at the multilateral level. Promoting fair competition The WTO is sometimes described as a “free trade” institution, but that is not entirely accurate. The system does allow tariffs and, in limited circumstances, other forms of protection. More accurately, it is a system of rules dedicated to open, fair and undistorted competition. The rules on non-discrimination — MFN and national treatment — are designed to secure fair conditions of trade. So too are those on dumping (exporting at below cost to gain market share) and subsidies. The issues are complex, and the rules try to establish what is fair or unfair, and how governments can respond, in particular by charging additional import duties calculated to compensate for damage caused by unfair trade. Many of the other WTO agreements aim to support fair
  • 33. competition: in agriculture, intellectual property, services, for example. The agreement on government procurement (a “plurilateral” agreement because it is signed by only a few WTO members) extends competition rules to purchases by thousands of government entities in many countries. And so on. Encouraging development and economic reform The WTO system contributes to development. On the other hand, developing countries need flexibility in the time they take to implement the system’s agreements. And the agreements themselves inherit the earlier provisions of GATT that allow for special assistance and trade concessions for developing countries. Over three quarters of WTO members are developing countries and countries in transition to market economies. During the seven and a half years of the Uruguay Round, over 60 of these countries implemented trade liberalization programmes autonomously. At the same time, developing countries and transition economies were much more active and influential in the Uruguay Round negotiations than in any previous round, and they are even more so in the current Doha Development Agenda. At the end of the Uruguay Round, developing countries were prepared to take on most of the obligations that are required of developed countries. But the agreements did give them transition
  • 34. periods to adjust to the more unfamiliar and, perhaps, difficult WTO provisions — particularly so for the poorest, “least-developed” countries. A ministerial decision adopted at the end of the round says better-off countries should accelerate implementing market access commitments on goods exported by the least-developed countries, and it seeks increased technical assistance for them. More recently, developed countries have started to allow duty- free and quota-free imports for almost all products from least- developed countries. On all of this, the WTO and its members are still going through a learning process. The current Doha Development Agenda includes developing countries’ concerns about the difficulties they face in implementing the Uruguay Round agreements. The Uruguay Round increased bindings Percentages of tariffs bound before and after the 1986–94 talks Before After Developed countries 78 99 Developing countries 21 73 Transition economies 73 98 (These are tariff lines, so percentages are not weighted according to trade volume or value)
  • 35. 14 3. The case for open trade The economic case for an open trading system based on multilaterally agreed rules is simple enough and rests largely on commercial common sense. But it is also supported by evidence: the experience of world trade and economic growth since the Second World War. Tariffs on industrial products have fallen steeply and now average less than 5% in industrial countries. During the first 25 years after the war, world economic growth averaged about 5% per year, a high rate that was partly the result of lower trade barriers. World trade grew even faster, averaging about 8% during the period. The data show a definite statistical link between freer trade and economic growth. Economic theory points to strong reasons for the link. All countries, including the poorest, have assets — human, industrial, natural, financial — which they can employ to produce goods and services for their domestic markets or to compete overseas. Economics tells us that we can benefit when these goods and services are traded. Simply put, the principle of “comparative advantage” says that countries prosper first by taking advantage of their assets in order to concentrate on what they can produce best, and then by trading these products for products that other countries
  • 36. produce best. In other words, liberal trade policies — policies that allow the unrestricted flow of goods and services — sharpen competition, motivate innovation and breed success. They multiply the rewards that result from producing the best products, with the best design, at the best price. But success in trade is not static. The ability to compete well in particular products can shift from company to company when the market changes or new technologies make cheaper and better products possible. Producers are encouraged to adapt gradually and in a relatively painless way. They can focus on new products, find a new “niche” in their current area or expand into new areas. Experience shows that competitiveness can also shift between whole countries. A country that may have enjoyed an advantage because of lower labour costs or because it had good supplies of some natural resources, could also become uncompetitive in some goods or services as its economy develops. However, with the stimulus of an open economy, the country can move on to become competitive in some other goods or services. This is normally a gradual process. Nevertheless, the temptation to ward off the challenge of competitive imports is always present. And richer governments are more likely to yield to the siren call of protectionism, for short term
  • 37. political gain — through subsidies, complicated red tape, and hiding behind legitimate policy objectives such as environmental preservation or consumer protection as an excuse to protect producers. Protection ultimately leads to bloated, inefficient producers supplying consumers with outdated, unattractive products. In the end, factories close and jobs are lost despite the protection and subsidies. If other governments around the world pursue the same policies, markets contract and world economic activity is reduced. One of the objectives that governments bring to WTO negotiations is to prevent such a self-defeating and destructive drift into protectionism. TRUE AND NON-TRIVIAL? Nobel laureate Paul Samuelson was once challenged by the mathematician Stanislaw Ulam to “name me one proposition in all of the social sciences which is both true and non-trivial.” Samuelson’s answer? Comparative advantage.
  • 38. “That it is logically true need not be argued before a mathematician; that it is not trivial is attested by the thousands of important and intelligent men who have never been able to grasp the doctrine for themselves or to believe it after it was explained to them.” World trade and production have accelerated Both trade and GDP fell in the late 1920s, before bottoming out in 1932. After World War II, both have risen exponentially, most of the time with trade outpacing GDP. (1950 = 100. Trade and GDP: log scale) 2000 1000 200 100 1929/32 38 48 60 70 80 90 1995
  • 39. 50 GATT created WTO created GDP Merchandise trade 15 MORE ON THE WEBSITE: www.wto.org > resources > WTO research and analysis Comparative advantage This is arguably the single most powerful insight into economics. Suppose country A is better than country B at making automobiles, and country B is better than country A at making bread. It is obvious (the academics would say “trivial”) that both would benefit if A specialized in automobiles, B specialized in bread and they traded their products. That is a case of absolute advantage.
  • 40. But what if a country is bad at making everything? Will trade drive all producers out of business? The answer, according to Ricardo, is no. The reason is the principle of comparative advantage. It says, countries A and B still stand to benefit from trading with each other even if A is better than B at making everything. If A is much more superior at making automobiles and only slightly superior at making bread, then A should still invest resources in what it does best — producing automobiles — and export the product to B. B should still invest in what it does best — making bread — and export that product to A, even if it is not as efficient as A. Both would still benefit from the trade. A country does not have to be best at anything to gain from trade. That is comparative advantage. The theory dates back to classical economist David Ricardo. It is one of the most widely accepted among economists. It is also one of the most misunderstood among non-economists because it is confused with absolute
  • 41. advantage. It is often claimed, for example, that some countries have no comparative advantage in anything. That is virtually impossible. Think about it ... 16 4. The GATT years: from Havana to Marrakesh The WTO’s creation on 1 January 1995 marked the biggest reform of international trade since after the Second World War. It also brought to reality — in an updated form — the failed attempt in 1948 to create an International Trade Organization. Much of the history of those 47 years was written in Geneva. But it also traces a journey that spanned the continents, from that hesitant start in 1948 in Havana (Cuba), via Annecy (France), Torquay (UK), Tokyo (Japan), Punta del Este (Uruguay), Montreal (Canada), Brussels (Belgium) and finally to Marrakesh (Morocco) in 1994. During that period, the trading system came under GATT, salvaged from the aborted attempt to create the ITO. GATT helped
  • 42. establish a strong and prosperous multilateral trading system that became more and more liberal through rounds of trade negotiations. But by the 1980s the system needed a thorough overhaul. This led to the Uruguay Round, and ultimately to the WTO. GATT: ‘provisional’ for almost half a century From 1948 to 1994, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) provided the rules for much of world trade and presided over periods that saw some of the highest growth rates in international commerce. It seemed well-established, but throughout those 47 years, it was a provisional agreement and organization. The original intention was to create a third institution to handle the trade side of international economic cooperation, joining the two “Bretton Woods” institutions, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Over 50 countries participated in negotiations to create an International Trade Organization (ITO) as a specialized agency of the United Nations. The draft ITO Charter was ambitious. It extended beyond world trade disciplines, to include rules on employment, commodity agreements, restrictive business practices, international investment, and services. The aim was to create the ITO at a UN Conference on Trade and Employment in Havana, Cuba in 1947.
  • 43. Meanwhile, 15 countries had begun talks in December 1945 to reduce and bind customs tariffs. With the Second World War only recently ended, they wanted to give an early boost to trade liberalization, and to begin to correct the legacy of protectionist measures which remained in place from the early 1930s. This first round of negotiations resulted in a package of trade rules and 45,000 tariff concessions affecting $10 billion of trade, about one fifth of the world’s total. The group had expanded to 23 by the time the deal was signed on 30 October 1947. The tariff concessions came into effect by 30 June 1948 through a “Protocol of Provisional Application”. And so the new General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was born, with 23 founding members (officially “contracting parties”). The 23 were also part of the larger group negotiating the ITO Charter. One of the provisions of GATT says that they should accept some of the trade rules of the draft. This, they believed, should be done swiftly and “provisionally” in order to protect the value of the The trade chiefs The directors-general of GATT and WTO • Sir Eric Wyndham White (UK) 1948–68
  • 44. • Olivier Long (Switzerland) 1968–80 • Arthur Dunkel (Switzerland) 1980–93 • Peter Sutherland (Ireland) GATT 1993–94; WTO 1995 • Renato Ruggiero (Italy) 1995–1999 • Mike Moore (New Zealand) 1999–2002 • Supachai Panitchpakdi (Thailand) 2002– 2005 • Pascal Lamy (France) 2005– 17 tariff concessions they had negotiated. They spelt out how they envisaged the relationship between GATT and the ITO Charter, but they also allowed for the possibility that the ITO might not be created. They were right. The Havana conference began on 21 November 1947, less than a month after GATT was signed. The ITO Charter was finally agreed in Havana in March 1948, but ratification in some national legislatures proved impossible. The most serious opposition was in the US Congress, even though the US government had been one of the driving forces. In 1950, the United States government announced
  • 45. that it would not seek Congressional ratification of the Havana Charter, and the ITO was effectively dead. So, the GATT became the only multilateral instrument governing international trade from 1948 until the WTO was established in 1995. For almost half a century, the GATT’s basic legal principles remained much as they were in 1948. There were additions in the form of a section on development added in the 1960s and “plurilateral” agreements (i.e. with voluntary membership) in the 1970s, and efforts to reduce tariffs further continued. Much of this was achieved through a series of multilateral negotiations known as “trade rounds” — the biggest leaps forward in international trade liberalization have come through these rounds which were held under GATT’s auspices. In the early years, the GATT trade rounds concentrated on further reducing tariffs. Then, the Kennedy Round in the mid-sixties brought about a GATT Anti-Dumping Agreement and a section on development. The Tokyo Round during the seventies was the first major attempt to tackle trade barriers that do not take the form of tariffs, and to improve the system. The eighth, the Uruguay Round of 1986–94, was the last and most extensive of all. It led to the WTO and a new set of agreements. The GATT trade rounds
  • 46. Year Place/ name Subjects covered Countries 1947 Geneva Tariffs 23 1949 Annecy Tariffs 13 1951 Torquay Tariffs 38 1956 Geneva Tariffs 26 1960–1961 Geneva (Dillon Round) Tariffs 26 1964–1967 Geneva (Kennedy Round) Tariffs and anti-dumping measures 62 1973–1979 Geneva (Tokyo Round) Tariffs, non-tariff measures, “framework” agreements 102 1986–1994 Geneva (Uruguay Round) Tariffs, non-tariff measures, rules, services, intellectual property, dispute settlement, textiles, agriculture, creation of WTO, etc 123 The Tokyo Round: a first try to reform the system The Tokyo Round lasted from 1973 to 1979, with 102 countries participating. It continued GATT’s efforts to progressively reduce tariffs. The results included an average one-third cut in customs duties in the world’s nine major industrial markets, bringing the average tariff on industrial products down to 4.7%. The tariff reductions, phased in over a period of eight years, involved an element of “harmonization” — the higher the tariff, the larger the cut, proportionally. 18
  • 47. In other issues, the Tokyo Round had mixed results. It failed to come to grips with the fundamental problems affecting farm trade and also stopped short of providing a modified agreement on “safeguards” (emergency import measures). Nevertheless, a series of agreements on non-tariff barriers did emerge from the negotiations, in some cases interpreting existing GATT rules, in others breaking entirely new ground. In most cases, only a relatively small number of (mainly industrialized) GATT members subscribed to these agreements and arrangements. Because they were not accepted by the full GATT membership, they were often informally called “codes”. They were not multilateral, but they were a beginning. Several codes were eventually amended in the Uruguay Round and turned into multilateral commitments accepted by all WTO members. Only four remained “plurilateral” — those on government procurement, bovine meat, civil aircraft and dairy products. In 1997 WTO members agreed to terminate the bovine meat and dairy agreements, leaving only two. Did GATT succeed? GATT was provisional with a limited field of action, but its success over 47 years in promoting and securing the liberalization of much of world trade is incontestable. Continual reductions in tariffs alone helped spur very high rates of world trade growth during the
  • 48. 1950s and 1960s — around 8% a year on average. And the momentum of trade liberalization helped ensure that trade growth consistently out-paced production growth throughout the GATT era, a measure of countries’ increasing ability to trade with each other and to reap the benefits of trade. The rush of new members during the Uruguay Round demonstrated that the multilateral trading system was recognized as an anchor for development and an instrument of economic and trade reform. But all was not well. As time passed new problems arose. The Tokyo Round in the 1970s was an attempt to tackle some of these but its achievements were limited. This was a sign of difficult times to come. GATT’s success in reducing tariffs to such a low level, combined with a series of economic recessions in the 1970s and early 1980s, drove governments to devise other forms of protection for sectors facing increased foreign competition. High rates of unemployment and constant factory closures led governments in Western Europe and North America to seek bilateral market-sharing arrangements with competitors and to embark on a subsidies race to maintain their holds on agricultural trade. Both these changes undermined GATT’s credibility and effectiveness.
  • 49. The problem was not just a deteriorating trade policy environment. By the early 1980s the General Agreement was clearly no longer as relevant to the realities of world trade as it had been in the 1940s. For a start, world trade had become far more complex and important than 40 years before: the globalization of the world economy was underway, trade in services — not covered by GATT rules — was of major interest to more and more countries, and international investment had expanded. The expansion of services trade was also closely tied to further increases in world merchandise trade. In other respects, GATT had been found wanting. For The Tokyo Round ‘codes’ • Subsidies and countervailing measures — interpreting Articles 6, 16 and 23 of GATT • Technical barriers to trade — sometimes called the Standards Code • Import licensing procedures • Government procurement • Customs valuation — interpreting Article 7 • Anti-dumping — interpreting Article 6, replacing the Kennedy Round code
  • 50. • Bovine Meat Arrangement • International Dairy Arrangement • Trade in Civil Aircraft 19 instance, in agriculture, loopholes in the multilateral system were heavily exploited, and efforts at liberalizing agricultural trade met with little success. In the textiles and clothing sector, an exception to GATT’s normal disciplines was negotiated in the 1960s and early 1970s, leading to the Multifibre Arrangement. Even GATT’s institutional structure and its dispute settlement system were causing concern. These and other factors convinced GATT members that a new effort to reinforce and extend the multilateral system should be attempted. That effort resulted in the Uruguay Round, the Marrakesh Declaration, and the creation of the WTO. Trade rounds: progress by package They are often lengthy — the Uruguay Round took seven and a half years — but trade rounds can have an advantage. They offer a package approach to trade negotiations that
  • 51. can sometimes be more fruitful than negotiations on a single issue. • The size of the package can mean more benefits because participants can seek and secure advantages across a wide range of issues. • Agreement can be easier to reach, through trade-offs — somewhere in the package there should be something for everyone. This has political as well as economic implications. A government may want to make a concession, perhaps in one sector, because of the economic benefits. But politically, it could find the concession difficult to defend. A package would contain politically and economically attractive benefits in other sectors that could be used as compensation. So, reform in politically-sensitive sectors of world trade can be more feasible as part of a global package — a good example is the agreement to reform agricultural trade in the Uruguay Round. • Developing countries and other less powerful participants have a greater chance of influencing the multilateral system in a trade round than in bilateral relationships with major trading nations. But the size of a trade round can be both a strength and a weakness. From time to time, the question is asked: wouldn’t it be simpler to concentrate negotiations on a single sector?
  • 52. Recent history is inconclusive. At some stages, the Uruguay Round seemed so cumbersome that it seemed impossible that all participants could agree on every subject. Then the round did end successfully in 1993–94. This was followed by two years of failure to reach agreement in the single-sector talks on maritime transport. Did this mean that trade rounds were the only route to success? No. In 1997, single-sector talks were concluded successfully in basic telecommunications, information technology equipment and financial services. The debate continues. Whatever the answer, the reasons are not straightforward. Perhaps success depends on using the right type of negotiation for the particular time and context. 20 5. The Uruguay Round It took seven and a half years, almost twice the original schedule. By the end, 123 countries were taking part. It covered almost all trade, from toothbrushes to pleasure boats, from banking to telecommunications, from the genes of wild rice to AIDS treatments. It was quite simply the largest trade negotiation ever, and most probably the largest negotiation of any kind in history. At times it seemed doomed to fail. But in the end, the Uruguay Round brought about the biggest reform of the world’s trading
  • 53. system since GATT was created at the end of the Second World War. And yet, despite its troubled progress, the Uruguay Round did see some early results. Within only two years, participants had agreed on a package of cuts in import duties on tropical products — which are mainly exported by developing countries. They had also revised the rules for settling disputes, with some measures implemented on the spot. And they called for regular reports on GATT members’ trade policies, a move considered important for making trade regimes transparent around the world. A round to end all rounds? The seeds of the Uruguay Round were sown in November 1982 at a ministerial meeting of GATT members in Geneva. Although the ministers intended to launch a major new negotiation, the conference stalled on agriculture and was widely regarded as a failure. In fact, the work programme that the ministers agreed formed the basis for what was to become the Uruguay Round negotiating agenda. Nevertheless, it took four more years of exploring, clarifying issues and painstaking consensus-building, before ministers agreed to launch the new round. They did so in September 1986, in Punta del Este, Uruguay. They eventually accepted a negotiating agenda that covered virtually every outstanding trade policy issue. The talks were going to extend the trading system into several new areas, notably trade in services and intellectual property, and to reform
  • 54. trade in the sensitive sectors of agriculture and textiles. All the original GATT articles were up for review. It was the biggest negotiating mandate on trade ever agreed, and the ministers gave themselves four years to complete it. Two years later, in December 1988, ministers met again in Montreal, Canada, for what was supposed to be an assessment of progress at the round’s half-way point. The purpose was to clarify the agenda for the remaining two years, but the talks ended in a deadlock that was not resolved until officials met more quietly in Geneva the following April. Despite the difficulty, during the Montreal meeting, ministers did agree a package of early results. These included some concessions on market access for tropical products — aimed at assisting developing countries — as well as a streamlined dispute settlement system, and the Trade Policy Review Mechanism which provided for the first comprehensive, systematic and regular reviews of national trade policies and practices of GATT members. The round was supposed to end when ministers met once more in Brussels, in December 1990. But they disagreed on how to reform agricultural The 1986 agenda The 15 original Uruguay Round subjects
  • 55. Tariffs Non-tariff barriers Natural resource products Textiles and clothing Agriculture Tropical products GATT articles Tokyo Round codes Anti-dumping Subsidies Intellectual property Investment measures Dispute settlement The GATT system Services The Uruguay Round — Key dates Sep 86 Punta del Este: launch Dec 88 Montreal: ministerial mid-term review Apr 89 Geneva: mid-term review completed Dec 90 Brussels: “closing” ministerial meeting ends in deadlock Dec 91 Geneva: first draft of Final Act completed Nov 92 Washington: US and EC achieve “Blair House” breakthrough on agriculture Jul 93 Tokyo: Quad achieve market
  • 56. access breakthrough at G7 summit Dec 93 Geneva: most negotiations end (some market access talks remain) Apr 94 Marrakesh: agreements signed Jan 95 Geneva: WTO created, agreements take effect 21 trade and decided to extend the talks. The Uruguay Round entered its bleakest period. Despite the poor political outlook, a considerable amount of technical work continued, leading to the first draft of a final legal agreement. This draft “Final Act” was compiled by the then GATT director-general, Arthur Dunkel, who chaired the negotiations at officials’ level. It was put on the table in Geneva in December 1991. The text fulfilled every part of the Punta del Este mandate, with one exception — it did not contain the participating countries’ lists of commitments for cutting import duties and opening their services markets. The draft became the basis for the final agreement. Over the following two years, the negotiations lurched between impending failure, to predictions of imminent success. Several
  • 57. deadlines came and went. New points of major conflict emerged to join agriculture: services, market access, anti-dumping rules, and the proposed creation of a new institution. Differences between the United States and European Union became central to hopes for a final, successful conclusion. In November 1992, the US and EU settled most of their differences on agriculture in a deal known informally as the “Blair House accord”. By July 1993 the “Quad” (US, EU, Japan and Canada) announced significant progress in negotiations on tariffs and related subjects (“market access”). It took until 15 December 1993 for every issue to be finally resolved and for negotiations on market access for goods and services to be concluded (although some final touches were completed in talks on market access a few weeks later). On 15 April 1994, the deal was signed by ministers from most of the 123 participating governments at a meeting in Marrakesh, Morocco. The delay had some merits. It allowed some negotiations to progress further than would have been possible in 1990: for example some aspects of services and intellectual property, and the creation of the WTO itself. But the task had been immense, and negotiation-fatigue was felt in trade bureaucracies around the world. The difficulty of reaching agreement on a complete package containing almost the entire range of current trade issues led some to conclude that a negotiation on this scale would never again be
  • 58. possible. Yet, the Uruguay Round agreements contain timetables for new negotiations on a number of topics. And by 1996, some countries were openly calling for a new round early in the next century. The response was mixed; but the Marrakesh agreement did already include commitments to reopen negotiations on agriculture and services at the turn of the century. These began in early 2000 and were incorporated into the Doha Development Agenda in late 2001. What happened to GATT? The WTO replaced GATT as an international organization, but the General Agreement still exists as the WTO’s umbrella treaty for trade in goods, updated as a result of the Uruguay Round negotiations. Trade lawyers distinguish between GATT 1994, the updated parts of GATT, and GATT 1947, the original agreement which is still the heart of GATT 1994. Confusing? For most of us, it’s enough to refer simply to “GATT”. 22 The post-Uruguay Round built-in agenda Many of the Uruguay Round agreements set timetables for future work. Part of this “built-in agenda” started almost immediately.
  • 59. In some areas, it included new or further negotiations. In other areas, it included assessments or reviews of the situation at specified times. Some negotiations were quickly completed, notably in basic telecommunications, financial services. (Member governments also swiftly agreed a deal for freer trade in information technology products, an issue outside the “built-in agenda”.) The agenda originally built into the Uruguay Round agreements has seen additions and modifications. A number of items are now part of the Doha Agenda, some of them updated. There were well over 30 items in the original built-in agenda. This is a selection of highlights: 1996 • Maritime services: market access negotiations to end (30 June 1996, suspended to 2000, now part of Doha Development Agenda) • Services and environment: deadline for working party report (ministerial conference, December 1996) • Government procurement of services: negotiations start 1997 • Basic telecoms: negotiations end (15 February)
  • 60. • Financial services: negotiations end (30 December) • Intellectual property, creating a multilateral system of notification and registration of geographical indications for wines: negotiations start, now part of Doha Development Agenda 1998 • Textiles and clothing: new phase begins 1 January • Services (emergency safeguards): results of negotiations on emergency safeguards to take effect (by 1 January 1998, deadline now March 2004) • Rules of origin: Work programme on harmonization of rules of origin to be completed (20 July 1998) • Government procurement: further negotiations start, for improving rules and procedures (by end of 1998) • Dispute settlement: full review of rules and procedures (to start by end of 1998) 1999 • Intellectual property: certain exceptions to patentability and protection of plant varieties: review starts 2000
  • 61. • Agriculture: negotiations start, now part of Doha Development Agenda • Services: new round of negotiations start, now part of Doha Development Agenda • Tariff bindings: review of definition of “principle supplier” having negotiating rights under GATT Art 28 on modifying bindings • Intellectual property: first of two-yearly reviews of the implementation of the agreement 2002 • Textiles and clothing: new phase begins 1 January 2005 • Textiles and clothing: full integration into GATT and agreement expires 1 January 23 Chapter 2 The agreements The WTO is ‘rules-based’;
  • 62. its rules are negotiated agreements 1. Overview: a navigational guide The WTO agreements cover goods, services and intellectual property. They spell out the principles of liberalization, and the permitted exceptions. They include individual countries’ commitments to lower customs tariffs and other trade barriers, and to open and keep open services markets. They set procedures for settling disputes. They prescribe special treatment for developing countries. They require governments to make their trade policies transparent by notifying the WTO about laws in force and measures adopted, and through regular reports by the secretariat on countries’ trade policies. These agreements are often called the WTO’s trade rules, and the WTO is often described as “rules-based”, a system based on rules. But it’s important to remember that the rules are actually agreements that governments negotiated. This chapter focuses on the Uruguay Round agreements, which are the basis of the present WTO system. Additional work is also now underway in the WTO. This is the result of decisions taken at Ministerial Conferences, in particular the meeting in Doha, November 2001, when new negotiations and other work were launched. (More on the Doha Agenda, later.) Six-part broad outline
  • 63. The table of contents of “The Results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations: The Legal Texts” is a daunting list of about 60 agreements, annexes, decisions and understandings. In fact, the agreements fall into a simple structure with six main parts: an umbrella agreement (the Agreement Establishing the WTO); agreements for each of the three broad areas of trade that the WTO covers (goods, services and intellectual property); dispute settlement; and reviews of governments’ trade policies. The agreements for the two largest areas — goods and services — share a common three-part outline, even though the detail is sometimes quite different. • They start with broad principles: the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) (for goods), and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). (The third area, Trade- Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), also falls into this category although at present it has no additional parts.) • Then come extra agreements and annexes dealing with the special requirements of specific sectors or issues. • Finally, there are the detailed and lengthy schedules (or lists) of commitments made by individual countries allowing specific foreign products or service-providers access to their markets. The ‘additional details’ These agreements and annexes deal with
  • 64. the following specific sectors or issues: For goods (under GATT) • Agriculture • Health regulations for farm products (SPS) • Textiles and clothing • Product standards (TBT) • Investment measures • Anti-dumping measures • Customs valuation methods • Preshipment inspection • Rules of origin • Import licensing • Subsidies and counter-measures • Safeguards For services (the GATS annexes) • Movement of natural persons • Air transport • Financial services • Shipping • Telecommunications 24 For GATT, these take the form of binding commitments on tariffs for goods in general, and combinations of tariffs and quotas for some agricultural goods. For GATS, the commitments state how much access foreign service providers are allowed for specific sectors, and they include lists of types of services where
  • 65. individual countries say they are not applying the “most- favoured-nation” principle of non-discrimination. Underpinning these are dispute settlement, which is based on the agreements and commitments, and trade policy reviews, an exercise in transparency. Much of the Uruguay Round dealt with the first two parts: general principles and principles for specific sectors. At the same time, market access negotiations were possible for industrial goods. Once the principles had been worked out, negotiations could proceed on the commitments for sectors such as agriculture and services. In a nutshell The basic structure of the WTO agreements: how the six main areas fit together — the umbrella WTO Agreement, goods, services, intellectual property, disputes and trade policy reviews. Umbrella AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING WTO Goods Services Intellectual property Basic principles GATT GATS TRIPS Additional details Other goods agreements and annexes Services annexes
  • 66. Market access commitments Countries’ schedules of commitments Countries’ schedules of commitments (and MFN exemptions) Dispute settlement DISPUTE SETTLEMENT Transparency TRADE POLICY REVIEWS Additional agreements Another group of agreements not included in the diagram is also important: the two “plurilateral” agreements not signed by all members: civil aircraft and government procurement. Further changes on the horizon, the Doha Agenda These agreements are not static; they are renegotiated from time to time and new agreements can be added to the package. Many are now being negotiated under the Doha Development Agenda, launched by WTO trade ministers in Doha, Qatar, in November 2001. 25 2. Tariffs: more bindings and closer to zero
  • 67. The bulkiest results of Uruguay Round are the 22,500 pages listing individual countries’ commitments on specific categories of goods and services. These include commitments to cut and “bind” their customs duty rates on imports of goods. In some cases, tariffs are being cut to zero. There is also a significant increase in the number of “bound” tariffs — duty rates that are committed in the WTO and are difficult to raise. ON THE WEBSITE: www.wto.org > trade topics > goods > goods schedules www.wto.org > trade topics > services > services schedules Tariff cuts Developed countries’ tariff cuts were for the most part phased in over five years from 1 January 1995. The result is a 40% cut in their tariffs on industrial products, from an average of 6.3% to 3.8%. The value of imported industrial products that receive duty-free treatment in developed countries will jump from 20% to 44%. There will also be fewer products charged high duty rates. The proportion of imports into developed countries from all sources facing tariffs rates of more than 15% will decline from 7% to 5%. The proportion of developing country exports facing tariffs above 15% in industrial countries will fall from 9% to 5%.
  • 68. The Uruguay Round package has been improved. On 26 March 1997, 40 countries accounting for more than 92% of world trade in information technology products, agreed to eliminate import duties and other charges on these products by 2000 (by 2005 in a handful of cases). As with other tariff commitments, each participating country is applying its commitments equally to exports from all WTO members (i.e. on a most-favoured-nation basis), even from members that did not make commitments. More bindings Developed countries increased the number of imports whose tariff rates are “bound” (committed and difficult to increase) from 78% of product lines to 99%. For developing countries, the increase was considerable: from 21% to 73%. Economies in transition from central planning increased their bindings from 73% to 98%. This all means a substantially higher degree of market security for traders and investors. ON THE WEBSITE: www.wto.org > trade topics > market access ‘Binding’ tariffs The market access schedules are not simply announcements of tariff rates. They represent commitments not to
  • 69. increase tariffs above the listed rates — the rates are “bound”. For developed countries, the bound rates are generally the rates actually charged. Most developing countries have bound the rates somewhat higher than the actual rates charged, so the bound rates serve as ceilings. Countries can break a commitment (i.e. raise a tariff above the bound rate), but only with difficulty. To do so they have to negotiate with the countries most concerned and that could result in compensation for trading partners’ loss of trade. What is this agreement called? There is no legally binding agreement that sets out the targets for tariff reductions (e.g. by what percentage they were to be cut as a result of the Uruguay Round). Instead, individual countries listed their commitments in schedules annexed to Marrakesh Protocol to the General Agreement on Tariffs
  • 70. and Trade 1994. This is the legally binding agreement for the reduced tariff rates. Since then, additional commitments were made under the 1997 Information Technology Agreement. 26 > See also Doha Agenda negotiations And agriculture ... Tariffs on all agricultural products are now bound. Almost all import restrictions that did not take the form of tariffs, such as quotas, have been converted to tariffs — a process known as “tariffication”. This has made markets substantially more predictable for agriculture. Previously more than 30% of agricultural produce had faced quotas or import restrictions. The first step in “tariffication” was to replace these restrictions with tariffs that represented about the same level of protection. Then, over six years from 1995– 2000, these tariffs were gradually reduced (the reduction period for developing countries ends in 2005). The market access commitments on agriculture also eliminate previous import bans
  • 71. on certain products. In addition, the lists include countries’ commitments to reduce domestic support and export subsidies for agricultural products. (See section on agriculture.) 27 3. Agriculture: fairer markets for farmers The original GATT did apply to agricultural trade, but it contained loopholes. For example, it allowed countries to use some non- tariff measures such as import quotas, and to subsidize. Agricultural trade became highly distorted, especially with the use of export subsidies which would not normally have been allowed for industrial products. The Uruguay Round produced the first multilateral agreement dedicated to the sector. It was a significant first step towards order, fair competition and a less distorted sector. It was implemented over a six year period (and is still being implemented by developing countries under their 10-year period), that began in 1995. The Uruguay Round agreement included a commitment to continue the reform through new negotiations. These were launched in 2000, as required by the Agriculture Agreement. > See also Doha Agenda negotiations
  • 72. The Agriculture Agreement: new rules and commitments The objective of the Agriculture Agreement is to reform trade in the sector and to make policies more market-oriented. This would improve predictability and security for importing and exporting countries alike. The new rules and commitments apply to: • market access — various trade restrictions confronting imports • domestic support — subsidies and other programmes, including those that raise or guarantee farmgate prices and farmers’ incomes • export subsidies and other methods used to make exports artificially competitive. The agreement does allow governments to support their rural economies, but preferably through policies that cause less distortion to trade. It also allows some flexibility in the way commitments are implemented. Developing countries do not have to cut their subsidies or lower their tariffs as much as developed countries, and they are given extra time to complete their obligations. Least- developed countries don’t have to do this at all. Special provisions deal with the interests of countries that rely on imports for their food supplies, and the concerns of least-developed
  • 73. economies. “Peace” provisions within the agreement aim to reduce the likelihood of disputes or challenges on agricultural subsidies over a period of nine years, until the end of 2003. What is ‘distortion’? This a key issue. Trade is distorted if prices are higher or lower than normal, and if quantities produced, bought, and sold are also higher or lower than normal — i.e. than the levels that would usually exist in a competitive market. For example, import barriers and domestic subsidies can make crops more expensive on a country’s internal market. The higher prices can encourage over- production. If the surplus is to be sold on world markets, where prices are lower, then export subsidies are needed. As a result, the subsidizing countries can be producing and exporting considerably more than they normally would. Governments usually give three reasons for supporting and protecting their farmers, even if this distorts agricultural trade: • to make sure that enough food is produced to meet the country’s needs • to shield farmers from the effects of the
  • 74. weather and swings in world prices • to preserve rural society. But the policies have often been expensive, and they have created gluts leading to export subsidy wars. Countries with less money for subsidies have suffered. The debate in the negotiations is whether these objectives can be met without distorting trade. What is this agreement called? Most provisions: Agreement on Agriculture. Commitments on tariffs, tariff quotas, domestic supports, export subsidies: in schedules annexed to the Marrakesh Protocol to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994. Also: [Ministerial] Decision on Measures Concerning the Possible Negative Effects of the Reform Programme on Least- Developed and Net
  • 75. Food-Importing Developing Countries. (See also: “Modalities for the establishment of specific binding commitments under the reform programme”, MTN.GNG/MA/W/24.) 28 A tariff-quota This is what a tariff-quota might look like Charged 10% Charged 80% Quota limit 1,000 tons Import quantity Tariff rate 80% 10% Out-of-quota In-quota
  • 76. Imports entering under the tariff-quota (up to 1,000 tons) are generally charged 10%. Imports entering outside the tariff-quota are charged 80%. Under the Uruguay Round agreement, the 1,000 tons would be based on actual imports in the base period or an agreed “minimum access” formula. Tariff quotas are also called “tariff-rate quotas”. Numerical targets for agriculture The reductions in agricultural subsidies and protection agreed in the Uruguay Round. Only the figures for cutting export subsidies appear in the agreement. Developed countries 6 years: 1995–2000 Developing countries 10 years: 1995–2004 Tariffs average cut for all agricultural products –36% –24% minimum cut per product –15% –10%
  • 77. Domestic support total AMS cuts for sector (base period: 1986–88) –20% –13% Exports value of subsidies –36% –24% subsidized quantities (base period: 1986–90) –21% –14% Least developed countries do not have to make commitments to reduce tariffs or subsidies. The base level for tariff cuts was the bound rate before 1 January 1995; or, for unbound tariffs, the actual rate charged in September 1986 when the Uruguay Round began. The other figures were targets used to calculate countries’ legally-binding “schedules” of commitments. Market access: ‘tariffs only’, please The new rule for market access in agricultural products is “tariffs only”. Before the Uruguay Round, some agricultural imports were restricted by quotas and other non-tariff measures. These have been replaced by tariffs that provide more-or-less equivalent levels of protection
  • 78. — if the previous policy meant domestic prices were 75% higher than world prices, then the new tariff could be around 75%. (Converting the quotas and other types of measures to tariffs in this way was called “tariffication”.) The tariffication package contained more. It ensured that quantities imported before the agreement took effect could continue to be imported, and it guaranteed that some new quantities were charged duty rates that were not prohibitive. This was achieved by a system of “tariff-quotas” — lower tariff rates for specified quantities, higher (sometimes much higher) rates for quantities that exceed the quota. The newly committed tariffs and tariff quotas, covering all agricultural products, took effect in 1995. Uruguay Round participants agreed that developed countries would cut the tariffs (the higher out-of-quota rates in the case of tariff-quotas) by an average of 36%, in equal steps over six years. Developing countries would make 24% cuts over 10 years. Several developing countries also used the option of offering ceiling tariff rates in cases where duties were not “bound” (i.e. committed under GATT or WTO regulations) before the Uruguay Round. Least-developed countries do not have to cut their tariffs. (These figures do not actually appear in the Agriculture Agreement. Participants used them to prepare their schedules — i.e. lists of commitments. It is the commitments listed in the schedules that are legally binding.) For products whose non-tariff restrictions have been converted to tariffs, governments are allowed to take special emergency actions (“special safeguards”) in order to prevent swiftly falling prices or surges in
  • 79. imports from hurting their farmers. But the agreement specifies when and how those emergency actions can be introduced (for example, they cannot be used on imports within a tariff-quota). Four countries used “special treatment” provisions to restrict imports of particularly sensitive products (mainly rice) during the implementation period (to 2000 for developed countries, to 2004 for developing nations), but subject to strictly defined conditions, including minimum access for overseas suppliers. The four were: Japan, Rep. of Korea, and the Philippines for rice; and Israel for sheepmeat, wholemilk powder and certain cheeses. Japan and Israel have now given up this right, but Rep. of Korea and the Philippines have extended their special treatment for rice. A new member, Chinese Taipei, gave special treatment to rice in its first year of membership, 2002. 29 Domestic support: some you can, some you can’t The main complaint about policies which support domestic prices, or subsidize production in some other way, is that they encourage over-production. This squeezes out imports or leads to export subsidies and low-priced dumping on world markets. The Agriculture Agreement distinguishes between support programmes that stimulate production directly, and those that are considered to have
  • 80. no direct effect. Domestic policies that do have a direct effect on production and trade have to be cut back. WTO members calculated how much support of this kind they were providing per year for the agricultural sector (using calculations known as “total aggregate measurement of support” or “Total AMS”) in the base years of 1986–88. Developed countries agreed to reduce these figures by 20% over six years starting in 1995. Developing countries agreed to make 13% cuts over 10 years. Least-developed countries do not need to make any cuts. (This category of domestic support is sometimes called the “amber box”, a reference to the amber colour of traffic lights, which means “slow down”.) Measures with minimal impact on trade can be used freely — they are in a “green box” (“green” as in traffic lights). They include government services such as research, disease control, infrastructure and food security. They also include payments made directly to farmers that do not stimulate production, such as certain forms of direct income support, assistance to help farmers restructure agriculture, and direct payments under environmental and regional assistance programmes. Also permitted, are certain direct payments to farmers where the farmers are required to limit production (sometimes called “blue
  • 81. box” measures), certain government assistance programmes to encourage agricultural and rural development in developing countries, and other support on a small scale (“de minimis”) when compared with the total value of the product or products supported (5% or less in the case of developed countries and 10% or less for developing countries). Export subsidies: limits on spending and quantities The Agriculture Agreement prohibits export subsidies on agricultural products unless the subsidies are specified in a member’s lists of commitments. Where they are listed, the agreement requires WTO members to cut both the amount of money they spend on export subsidies and the quantities of exports that receive subsidies. Taking averages for 1986–90 as the base level, developed countries agreed to cut the value of export subsidies by 36% over the six years starting in 1995 (24% over 10 years for developing countries). Developed countries also agreed to reduce the quantities of subsidized exports by 21% over the six years (14% over 10 years for developing countries). Least-developed countries do not need to make any cuts. During the six-year implementation period, developing countries are allowed under certain conditions to use subsidies to reduce the costs of marketing and transporting exports.
  • 82. 30 The least-developed and those depending on food imports Under the Agriculture Agreement, WTO members have to reduce their subsidized exports. But some importing countries depend on supplies of cheap, subsidized food from the major industrialized nations. They include some of the poorest countries, and although their farming sectors might receive a boost from higher prices caused by reduced export subsidies, they might need temporary assistance to make the necessary adjustments to deal with higher priced imports, and eventually to export. A special ministerial decision sets out objectives, and certain measures, for the provision of food aid and aid for agricultural development. It also refers to the possibility of assistance from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to finance commercial food imports. ON THE WEBSITE: www.wto.org > trade topics > goods > agriculture 31 4. Standards and safety
  • 83. Article 20 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) allows governments to act on trade in order to protect human, animal or plant life or health, provided they do not discriminate or use this as disguised protectionism. In addition, there are two specific WTO agreements dealing with food safety and animal and plant health and safety, and with product standards. Food, animal and plant products: how safe is safe? Problem: How do you ensure that your country’s consumers are being supplied with food that is safe to eat — “safe” by the standards you consider appropriate? And at the same time, how can you ensure that strict health and safety regulations are not being used as an excuse for protecting domestic producers? A separate agreement on food safety and animal and plant health standards (the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Agreement or SPS) sets out the basic rules. It allows countries to set their own standards. But it also says regulations must be based on science. They should be applied only to the extent necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health. And they should not arbitrarily or unjustifiably discriminate between countries where identical or similar conditions prevail. Member countries are encouraged to use international standards, guidelines and recommendations where they exist. However, members may use measures which result in higher standards if there is scientific justification. They can also set higher
  • 84. standards based on appropriate assessment of risks so long as the approach is consistent, not arbitrary. And they can to some extent apply the “precautionary principle”, a kind of “safety first” approach to deal with scientific uncertainty. Article 5.7 of the SPS Agreement allows temporary “precautionary” measures. The agreement still allows countries to use different standards and different methods of inspecting products. So how can an exporting country be sure the practices it applies to its products are acceptable in an importing country? If an exporting country can demonstrate that the measures it applies to its exports achieve the same level of health protection as in the importing country, then the importing country is expected to accept the exporting country’s standards and methods. The agreement includes provisions on control, inspection and approval procedures. Governments must provide advance notice of new or changed sanitary and phytosanitary regulations, and establish a national enquiry point to provide information. The agreement complements that on technical barriers to trade. ON THE WEBSITE: www.wto.org > trade topics > goods > sanitary and phytosanitary measures Whose international standards?
  • 85. An annex to the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Agreement names: • the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission: for food • the International Animal Health Organization (Office International des Epizooties): for animal health • the FAO’s Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention: for plant health. Governments can add any other international organizations or agreements whose membership is open to all WTO members. 32 Technical regulations and standards Technical regulations and industrial standards are important, but they vary from country to country. Having too many different standards makes life difficult for producers and exporters. If the standards are set arbitrarily, they could be used as an excuse for protectionism. Standards can become obstacles to trade. The Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement (TBT) tries to ensure that regulations, standards, testing and certification
  • 86. procedures do not create unnecessary obstacles. The agreement recognizes countries’ rights to adopt the standards they consider appropriate — for example, for human, animal or plant life or health, for the protection of the environment or to meet other consumer interests. Moreover, members are not prevented from taking measures necessary to ensure their standards are met. In order to prevent too much diversity, the agreement encourages countries to use international standards where these are appropriate, but it does not require them to change their levels of protection as a result. The agreement sets out a code of good practice for the preparation, adoption and application of standards by central government bodies. It also includes provisions describing how local government and non-governmental bodies should apply their own regulations — normally they should use the same principles as apply to central governments. The agreement says the procedures used to decide whether a product conforms with national standards have to be fair and equitable. It discourages any methods that would give domestically produced goods an unfair advantage. The agreement also encourages countries to recognize each other’s testing procedures. That way, a product can be assessed to see if it meets the importing
  • 87. country’s standards through testing in the country where it is made. Manufacturers and exporters need to know what the latest standards are in their prospective markets. To help ensure that this information is made available conveniently, all WTO member governments are required to establish national enquiry points. ON THE WEBSITE: www.wto.org > trade topics > goods > technical barriers to trade 33 5. Textiles: back in the mainstream Textiles, like agriculture, was one of the hardest-fought issues in the WTO, as it was in the former GATT system. It has now completed fundamental change under a 10-year schedule agreed in the Uruguay Round. The system of import quotas that dominated the trade since the early 1960s have now been phased out. From 1974 until the end of the Uruguay Round, the trade was governed by the Multifibre Arrangement (MFA). This was a framework for bilateral agreements or unilateral actions that established quotas limiting imports into countries whose domestic
  • 88. industries were facing serious damage from rapidly increasing imports. The quotas were the most visible feature. They conflicted with GATT’s general preference for customs tariffs instead of measures that restrict quantities. They were also exceptions to the GATT principle of treating all trading partners equally because they specified how much the importing country was going to accept from individual exporting countries. Since 1995, the WTO’s Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) took over from the Mulltifibre Arrangement. By 1 January 2005, the sector was fully integrated into normal GATT rules. In particular, the quotas came to an end, and importing countries are no longer able to discriminate between exporters. The Agreement on Textiles and Clothing no longer exists: it’s the only WTO agreement that had self-destruction built in. Integration: returning products gradually to GATT rules Textiles and clothing products were returned to GATT rules over the 10-year period. This happened gradually, in four steps, to allow time for both importers and exporters to adjust to the new situation. Some of these products were previously under quotas. Any quotas that were in place on 31 December 1994 were carried over into the new agreement. For products that had quotas, the result of integration into GATT was the removal of these quotas.
  • 89. The agreement stated the percentage of products that had to be brought under GATT rules at each step. If any of these products came under quotas, then the quotas had to be removed at the same time. The percentages were applied to the importing country’s textiles and clothing trade levels in 1990. The agreement also said the quantities of imports permitted under the quotas had to grow annually, and that the rate of expansion had to increase at each stage. How fast that expansion would be was set out in a formula based on the growth rate that existed under the old Multifibre Arrangement (see table). Products brought under GATT rules at each of the first three stages had to cover the four main types of textiles and clothing: tops and yarns; fabrics; made-up textile products; and clothing. Any other restrictions that did not come under the Multifibre Arrangement and did not conform with regular WTO agreements by 1996 had to be made to conform or be phased out by 2005. 34 Four steps over 10 years The schedule for freeing textiles and garments products from import quotas (and returning them to GATT rules), and how fast remaining quotas
  • 90. had to be expanded. The example is based on the commonly-used 6% annual expansion rate of the old Multifibre Arrangement. In practice, the rates used under the MFA varied from product to product. Step Percentage of products to be brought under GATT (including removal of any quotas) How fast remaining quotas should open up, if 1994 rate was 6% Step 1: 1 Jan 1995 (to 31 Dec 1997) 16% (minimum, taking 1990 imports as base) 6.96% per year Step 2: 1 Jan 1998 (to 31 Dec 2001) 17% 8.7%